The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Dr Patrice Motsepe has lauded the successful weekend of the African Schools Cup in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr Motsepe, together with FIFA President, Mr Gianni Infantino attended the weekend festival in Kinshasa that included schools from six African countries. This was a culmination of a pilot project initiated by FIFA and CAF a year ago.

During his visit in Congo DR, he also met the head of State, His Excellency, Felix Tshisekedi.

The CAF President was also joined by FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samoura, CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba, Presidents from the participating Member Associations and football legends.

Morocco walked away as winners of the inaugural girl’s tournament beating South Africa in the final. In the boys section, hosts Democratic Republic of Congo beat Senegal 3-1.

Dr Motsepe said: “We need to give the kids the right and opportunity to dream by investing in the lives of young people in our continent. I want to congratulate the winners of this inaugural competition. I also want to thank FIFA and the President of FIFA for the great partnership but also the role FIFA has played in the delivery of this project.”

The CAF President said the African Schools Cup was a good platform to launch the up-coming African Schools Championship in March 2022.

“In the next few weeks, CAF will kick-off the African Schools Championship involving 40 countries and our focus area, just like the African Schools Cup, is to grow football at grassroot level but also to develop young people who will be great ambassadors for Africa. This is an era of hope but also implementation.”

CAF will give more details in due course on the African Schools Championship.