THE country’s envoys in the CAF African Schools Football Championship, Fountain Gate are ready for the tournament’s conquest heading to its kick-off tomorrow in Durban, South Africa.
The teams’ campaign was blessed over the weekend by the Minister for Culture, Arts, and Sports Pindi Chana, who flagged off the team in Dar es Salaam on Friday.
It is a three-day tournament starting from April 5th to 8th this year.
The tournament mainly involves young players aged between 12- 15 to showcase their talents on the football pitch and create memories that will last forever.
Fountain Gate are champions of CECAFA for secondary schools.
The owner of the Fountain Gate academy, Japhet Makau said his school is committed to representing well the country and East Africa in the event.
That comes as the Fountain Gate team has been doing well and it has already produced players in the National Women’s team.
The Fountain Gate team is the representative of the East and Central Africa region CECAFA while the other regions are the Union of North African Football (UNAF), West African Football Union (WAFU) of West Africa, and Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) of Central Africa
Recently, the team’s coordinator Kelvin Shaban insisted that they have had enough preparations and are ready to invade South Africa to compete for the honour.
“If we managed to qualify here by beating other secondary schools drawn from different parts of the continent, we believe that we can do the same thing in South Africa and win the championship.
The CAF African Schools Football Championship is set for Durban when 14 of the top boys’ and girls’ schools on the continent meet for the right to be crowned African champions.
It is a ground-breaking event that has huge ramifications for the future of football on the continent, but also seeks to create our new leaders of tomorrow.
Speaking to CAFOnline.com, Sarah Mukuna, Director of Member Associations, schools football is one of the best investments for the future of football on the African continent to build talent pool from the base up, and for many children that starts at their schools.
Many of our continent’s top stars, who have gone to the very highest level of the game, started their football journey at school level. It was their first contact with the game and where they grew their passion.
“We believe there are many footballing gems out there, both boys and girls, and we want to give as many as possible the chance to fall in love with the game and showcase their talent,” she said.