The first edition of the School Football Championship, organized by the Confederation of African Football, was played from April 5 to 8 in Durban (South Africa). This is an unprecedented tournament whose main objective is to contribute to the development of football in Africa, specifies CAF. Represented by the Ben Sékou Sylla School Complex (from Coyah), Guinea is crowned champion of this inter-African tournament. The Guineans beat South Africa’s Calpham High School in the final in the fateful penalty shootout, after a parity score (1-1) at the end of regulation time.
Guinea had qualified for the competition by winning the UFOA zone A tournament, played in Cape Verde at the end of 2022. The School Football Championship, which is in its first experimentation by CAF, is exclusively reserved for students from 12 to 15 years old. A total of seven men’s and seven women’s teams, divided into two groups A & B, were in the race. Among the boys, Guinea was therefore crowned. In the girls’ series, Tanzania took first place.
Former president of the Guinean Football Federation and UFOA zone A, Antonio Souaré congratulated the new African champions on his Facebook page: “Guinea, African champion of the school tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football . Thank you to the worthy ambassadors of the Ben Sekou Sylla School Complex (Coyah) for this honor offered to the people of Guinea. Proud of you guys and welcome back! »
The jackpot
For this first edition of the African school tournament, the CAF President’s Motsepe Foundation donated ten million dollars. A sum that aims to develop African football at the base. For both boys and girls, each winning team of the Championship will receive the sum of 300,000 dollars. The unfortunate finalists will receive $200,000 and the bronze medalists (3rd) will walk away with $150,000.
Abdoulaye Pellel Bah