The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has said that it aims to elevate African football academy standards by implementing a structured development programme that nurtures talent, improves player skills, and ultimately enhances the continent’s global football performance.
This was announced at a gathering of football development professionals and leading academies in Africa CAF’s Academies Meeting in Cairo, Egypt, on December 4, 2024.
CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba said the brainstorming event presented a new and critical opportunity for African football to collectively strategize and enhance youth development across the continent.
This was the first of many planned engagements with Academies and youth structures in Africa.
A number of academies and football Clubs in Africa attended the meeting including African giant, Al Ahly, RS Berkane, Rahimo Football Club, Académie Génération Foot, Medina United, Mamelodi Sundowns, Right to Dream, Zed FC Academy, Kaizer Chiefs, Institut Diambars, Elite Du football Boissons du Cameroun EFBC, Académie Mohammed VI de Football, West African Football Academy, to mention but a few.
For upcoming engagements, CAF intends to widen the net and invite more parties to participate.
Mosengo-Omba said: “Youth Football is amongst the key priorities of CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe’s vision for African Football. Academies are key to this. We have to find a framework not only to regulate but, in line with FIFA, create an environment whereby we can be able to have oversight and a platform to exchange ideas. Academies are important in driving youth development.
The one-day think-tank workshop brought together key representatives from football academies across Africa. The discussions were aimed at refining strategies for nurturing young talent, a crucial aspect of the continent’s football ecosystem.
The outcome of this workshop will be presented to the CAF President, Dr Motsepe and also to the CAF Executive Committee.
CAF plans to collaborate with Member Associations (MA) to study the possibility to organize national academy tournaments across age categories, boosting competition and talent development. Competitions are essential for player growth by complementing their training. Proposed structures include:
- Creating age-specific competitions, grouped by skill levels, for balanced matchups.
- Structuring competitions based on logistics:
National-level tournaments, regional tournaments leading to a national final and three-tiered community, regional and national phases to crown champions. These are subject to approval by the CAF EXCO.
This initiative aims to enhance player development through structured and competitive platforms.
Highlight of the workshop included a visit to the ZED Academy in Cairo, Egypt for practical training insights and an official dinner for relationship building and networking.
The gathering underscores CAF’President commitment since the day one of his presidency to developing football talent at the grassroots level. By bringing together academy directors, coaches, and football development experts, the conference aims to promote the sharing pf best practices in youth football development, to identify challenges in current academy systems, to develop collaborative strategies for improving young player training and align continental approaches to football youth development.
