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CAF
26-05-2025
- Sport
- CAF
CAF marks World Football Day with continued commitment to Youth Empowerment, Education and Schools Football
The Confédération Africaine de Football ('CAF') joined the global community in celebrating World Football Day reaffirming its dedication to harnessing the power of the game to drive social development, youth empowerment and education across the African continent. At the heart of CAF's commitment is the CAF African Schools Football Championship – an initiative championed by CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe and a flagship grassroots programme that continues to impact hundreds of thousands of young boys and girls. The CAF African Schools Football Championship transcends the 90 minutes and is also focused on promoting life skills, teamwork, and leadership. In recognition of football's role in advancing global development, CAF's Director of Member Associations and Executive Member of the United Nations' Football for the Goals (FFTG) Advisory Board, Sarah Mukuna, recently participated in the UN Football for the Goals Forum, held over two days at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. During her presentation, Mukuna shared the transformational impact of CAF's school-level programmes and how they align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — notably in areas of good health (SDG 3), quality education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5), and partnerships for the goals (SDG 17). 'Through the CAF African Schools Football Championship, we are building a movement that places education, inclusion, and empowerment at the heart of youth development. Our collaboration with the UN and other global partners strengthens our resolve to use football to shape a better, more equitable future for Africa's children,' Mukuna said. The Forum served as a platform for collaboration and knowledge-sharing between the six football confederations, UN Member States, and senior UN officials and other Members. CAF's participation emphasized the CAF's strategic approach to aligning football development with broader global goals, reaffirming Africa's leadership in leveraging football as a driver of sustainable progress.
Scoop
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Champions For Change: World Football Teams Up With UN Development Goals
The Football for the Goals Forum brought UN leaders and some of the top voices in the world's most popular sport to UN Headquarters in New York for the inaugural Champions for Change: Football and the UN Unite for the SDGs event. The UN has long recognised the role of sport in advancing the SDGs – promoting peace, gender equality, health, and climate action – as affirmed in a General Assembly Resolution on Sport adopted in December 2022. With unparalleled global reach, football holds a unique position to drive progress on these goals. Launched in July 2022, Football for the Goals is a UN initiative engaging the international football community to advocate for the SDGs. Wednesday's forum aimed to mobilise the football community for action across key SDG areas. The kick off After introductions from football executives, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, UN communications chief Melissa Fleming, and the Qatari Representative to the UN, the opening panel – Bolstering Community Engagement with the SDGs – outlined the origins of Football for the Goals and explored how the football community can deepen its contribution to the SDGs. This was followed by a brief discussion on the football sector's commitment to climate sustainability. The programme then shifted to some of the Forum's most substantive panels, exploring how football both reflects global inequalities – between the Global South and North, and between men and women – and has the potential to help address them. North-South divide Júlia Pimenta of Street Child United highlighted that football organisations in the Global South, which serve the children who need support most, often lack adequate funding and must compete with well-resourced programmes in the Global North. Sarah Van Vooren of Atoot in Nepal similarly noted that grassroots organisations connecting football and sustainable development, frequently lack the resources needed to reach their full potential. When these organisations are properly supported, they can provide safe, educational environments for children – often with life-changing results. Panellists emphasised that funding such initiatives is key to advancing SDGs related to education and reducing inequality. Levelling the gender playing field Jayathma Wickramanayake, a policy advisor on sports partnerships at UN Women, noted that the gender equality agency is responsible for most of the targets under SDG 5 related to closing the gender gap. She emphasised that progress has been slow – and in some areas, it's even regressing – largely due to the persistence of rigid social norms, attitudes, and behaviours. These norms often manifest in the sports world through unequal pay and incidents of sexual harassment. However, Ms. Wickramanayake and other panellists highlighted how sport can be a powerful tool to challenge stereotypes and empower women and girls to succeed – both on and off the pitch.
