Alliance Girls kick off CAF preparations
MWANZA: MWANZA-based Alliance Girls (U-15) football team have kicked off preparation for the forthcoming CAF African Schools Football Championship for CECAFA zone to be staged in Nairobi, Kenya.
Alliance Teams Chairman, Stephano Nyaitati revealed on Monday that the team has commenced training at the Nyamagana Stadium ahead of the Nairobi event scheduled for December this year.
However, Nyaitati disclosed that the preparation time left for the big school competition is very little.
“I have faith in our team, we hope it will do very well and be able to represent our country in the competition,” he noted.
Nyaitati said the champion of the East African school championship will represent the East Africa zone at the African School Championship finals to be held next year in Egypt.
He said Alliance Girls U-15 won the African Primary and Secondary Schools Championship in the country (African School Championship Tanzania) after defeating Sahare Secondary School by 8-0 goals in the final game held at Mnyanjani ground in Tanga.
Alliance U15 skipper Elizabeth Chenge said they are progressing well with their preps ahead of the Nairobi event and urged football supporters in the Mwanza region to continue supporting their team so that it can do well in the international competition.
Mwanza City Deputy Mayor, Bhiku Kotecha promised that the Government will go hand in hand with the Alliance in their preparations.
CS Ben Sekou Sylla from Guinea and Fountain Gate School of Tanzania won the previous boys’ and girls’ competitions respectively at the inaugural 2022/23 CAF African Schools Football Championship Continental Final played in Durban, South Africa.
CS Ben Sekou Sylla defeated hosts Clapham High School on penalties in the final following a 1-1 draw in normal time while Fountain Gate saw off Moroccan side Ecole Omar IBN Khatab by 3-0 to cap a wonderful tournament.
The winners’ teams each receive USD 300,000 after the Motsepe Foundation donated USD 10 million in the inaugural year of the Pan-African schools’ competition.
The second and third winners took home USD 200,000 and USD 150,000 third prizes respectively.
