The CAF African Schools Football Championship is delivering a lasting legacy beyond the pitch, with prize money being invested in educational and sporting facilities across the continent.
Ahead of the latest instalment for the regional COSAFA Qualifiers to be staged in Saldanha Bay, <a href="https://absafricatv.com/south-africa-targets-indias-family-travel-market-as-digital-entry-system-widens/" title="South Africa Targets India's Family Travel Market as Digital Entry System Widens”>South Africa from December 4-6, it will be another chance for prize money to be delivered for the development of the game.
After the girls of Edendale Technical High School in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, won the inaugural CAF African Schools Football Championship COSAFA Qualifier in 2022, they have now seen the fruits of that success.
Their achievement secured USD 100,000 in prize money and the funds were earmarked for the development of their school.
Four years later, that success has helped deliver improvements that will benefit generations of pupils, demonstrating the wider purpose of the competition launched by CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe in 2022.
The investment at Edendale has helped restore damaged classrooms, improve sanitation, strengthen security and create new sporting facilities at a school attended by approximately 1,800 pupils.
It is a tangible example of how the CAF African Schools Football Championship is using football to support education and community development.
How the prize money works
All prize money is ring-fenced for development projects at beneficiary schools, ensuring that success on the pitch translates into improvements in educational and sporting infrastructure.
The programme has an annual prize-money allocation of USD 4 million, divided between boys’ and girls’ competitions at zonal and continental level.
At the Continental Finals, the winning teams in both categories receive USD 300,000, with USD 200,000 awarded to the runners-up and USD 150,000 to the third-placed finishers.
This amounts to USD 1.3 million across the two competitions.
The six CAF Zonal Unions also offer significant rewards, with winners receiving USD 100,000, runners-up USD 75,000 and third-placed teams USD 50,000 in both the boys’ and girls’ categories.
A further USD 2.7 million is therefore allocated across the zonal competitions.
The funding model was made possible through an initial USD 10 million commitment from the Motsepe Foundation towards prize money and the wider development of the CAF African Schools Football Championship.
Edendale’s transformation
Following significant damage caused by a devastating hailstorm, the prize-money project helped fund the rehabilitation of five classrooms and nine toilet blocks at Edendale Technical High School.
A new electric gate was installed to improve safety and access, while the school’s sporting facilities also received a substantial upgrade.
These included the construction of a multi-sports court catering for basketball, netball and hockey, giving pupils greater opportunities to participate in sport beyond football.
A new grandstand was also built alongside the football pitch to provide seating for spectators, with drainage channels incorporated beneath the structure to address recurring problems with overflowing water.
The project additionally included provision for a school bus.
The completed infrastructure improvements were officially handed over on 2 October 2026 as part of CAF’s programme of prize-money handover ceremonies across Africa.
For a school serving approximately 1,800 pupils, the benefits extend far beyond the small group of girls whose footballing achievements made the investment possible.
A legacy across Africa
Edendale’s story is being repeated in different forms across the continent, with prize money helping schools address their most pressing infrastructure and educational needs.
Projects supported through the CAF African Schools Football Championship include the construction and renovation of classrooms, libraries, computer laboratories, sporting facilities, boreholes and other essential amenities.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Complexe Scolaire Uwezo has benefited from five new classrooms and a five-a-side football pitch, while New Yundum School in The Gambia has received a borehole to improve access to clean drinking water.
In Guinea, College Fo Fissa has benefited from the development of a computer laboratory.
These projects demonstrate how the competition’s impact is being felt long after the final whistle, with investments supporting both education and opportunities for young people.
Since its launch in 2022, the CAF African Schools Football Championship has engaged more than three million boys and girls and over 82,000 schools across Africa.
The programme has also combined football competition with training and capacity-building initiatives for young referees, coaches, journalists, medical officers and other participants.
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