Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The CAF African Schools Football Champions (ASFC) WAFU A Qualifiers kicked off in The Gambia on Monday, 24 November with the launch of the Community Coaching Clinic at the GFF Technical Training Center in Yundum.
The clinic, alongside the CAF D-License workshop, underscores a renewed commitment to strengthening grassroots football across the sub-region.
Marking the start of the fourth edition the Zonal Qualifiers of Africa’s largest school’s football competition, the coaching clinic brings together aspiring and practicing school coaches to enhance their technical knowledge and coaching methodology under CAF’s structured development framework.
The clinic is one of several transformative workshops taking place alongside the main competition, which begins on Thursday, 27 November at the Gambinos Stars Africa Complex and QCity.
Veronic Aisha Malack, Women’s Football Development Manager at WAFU-A, praised CAF’s continued investment in grassroots development, emphasizing that the long-term success of African football relies heavily on the preparedness and capacity of coaches at the community level.
“The community coaching clinic and the CAF D-License programme are central pillars of the CAF African Schools Football Championship, funded by the Motsepe Foundation, and the fourth edition is being held here in The Gambia,” said Malack, a former Gambian international.
“One of our key objectives is to build the capacity of local coaches, particularly in schools, because this is the CAF African Schools Football Championship, and we are working with both boys and girls. Building the capacity of PE teachers is crucial so they can incorporate coaching into their plans, develop a passion for football, and eventually qualify as A-License coaches.
“We also want to demonstrate to the community that football is for everyone and is as important as any other field. As a zonal union working closely with CAF, we aim to increase the number of qualified coaches and introduce the beautiful game to thousands of young people,” Malack added.
The Technical Director of the Gambia Football Federation, Sang John Ndong, leads the coaching clinic and welcomed the competition taking place in The Gambia.
“This is a win-win situation for all of us. There have been many plans to run a CAF D-License course for teachers, and this proposal from WAFU-A came at the perfect time,” said Ndong, a former Scorpions goalkeeper and coach.
“The potential among participants is very high, and we need to invest in them—not only as coaches but also as instructors. They are already teachers, and the gap between a teacher and an instructor is not significant. If we want to reach players at a young age, we must work through the school system and educate teachers who will go on to recruit and train children in their schools.”
The CAF African Schools Football Championship programme is a pioneering initiative aimed at positively impacting learners, coaches, educators, and participating schools.
Beyond coaching, the programme includes the Young Reporter Programme, Young Referees Programme, Young Medical Officers Programme, and CAF Safeguarding workshops, creating a comprehensive platform for youth development in West African football.
