The first edition of the Pan-African Schools Championship will soon be launched in DR Congo. A total of 240 schools have been registered by the Congolese Federation of Football Associations (FECOFA). The official presentation of this pilot inter-school tournament 2021-2022 took place this Saturday, October 23, 2021, in the presence of the Secretary General of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Fatma Samba Diouf.
The tournament will be divided into four zones. There is the southern zone composed of the cities of Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga, Lubumbashi and Kaleme. The northern zone includes the cities of Mbandaka, Bunia and Kisangani. The Eastern zone covers the cities of Goma, Bukavu, Kindu and Beni. Finally, the western zone is composed of the cities of Kinshasa, Matadi and Bandundu.
This project was born from the will of the Head of State of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, and of FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The aim is to use football as a vehicle for the development of young people. The DRC was chosen as the pilot country for this project. The project will then be extended to the entire African continent.