The African Union (AU) Chairperson, Cyril Ramaphosa, and FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, have agreed on education as their common and official choice in an effort to boost football development in Africa.
The duo arrived at this choice during a call that preceded the 34th ordinary session of the assembly of AU heads of state and government, which held at the weekend.
Ramaphosa and Infantino recognized the opportunities that education, through football, can bring along with the FIFA Football for Schools programme, which is being coordinated globally via the FIFA Foundation.
The various plans considered by them to boost African Football through education particularly focused on setting up and managing football academies and competitions, and the development of infrastructure, such as stadia and football pitches. They also deliberated on the fight against match manipulation, as well as the issue of safety and security at football matches across Africa.
Reviewing the progress made since both organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2019, they also spoke of the positive momentum generated between both organizations in the past two years, as well as the strong institutional bonds forged between the AU and FIFA for the benefit of the African people.
The joint #SafeHome campaign from August 2020 between the AU and FIFA, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), where the four organizations addressed the important issue of domestic violence, which was exacerbated by COVID-19-related lockdowns and stay-at-home measures, is a further testimony o Having visited 35 African countries in the last few years, Infantino stressed the important role that Africa plays in global football, and how that needs to be strengthened in the future.
A number of Africa-based FIFA legends supported the campaign via video awareness messages, which were distributed on social and traditional media.
The role of Africa in global football has been supported with strong investments via the FIFA Forward programme, which has already delivered close to 300 projects across the continent.
The rollout of the FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan, supporting football across Africa during the pandemic, has also been significant and continues to play an important role to keep football alive in the continent.
Related to COVID-19, vaccination processes will also be crucial in the months ahead. In this respect, the FIFA president reiterated his support for fair access to vaccines for all, a message that he had passed to a global audience earlier this week at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the presence of the WHO director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The FIFA president thanked the AU chairperson for their continued support, and assured his AU counterpart that the strong relationship forged between both organizations in the past two years will continue, even when Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, assumes the role of African Union chairperson this February for a one-year term.
