Safeguarding Officers to play pivotal role at CAF African Schools Football Championship COSAFA Qualifiers

One of the key elements of the CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifier in Walvis Bay, Namibia between 11 - 13 October 2024 will be role played by the CAF Safeguarding Officers appointed to oversee the wellbeing of the youngsters.

The CAF Safeguarding Programme forms a key part of the ongoing CAF Africans Schools Football Championship, which not only focuses on unearthing and developing African football at grassroots level but has a holistic approach to human development of future African leaders.

Many of the learners in the Under-15 age-group will be travelling outside of their country for the first time and taking in new experiences in an unfamiliar environment, which can be both exciting and daunting.

Looking after their best interests will be a CAF Safeguarding Officer that is assigned to each team. This CAF-trained person will act as a focal point for all matters related to the well-being of the players and team delegation.

All CAF Safeguarding Officers are well versed in handling the challenges faced by youngsters and will have completed the mandatory FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Essentials online course.

The Safeguarding Officer will have four major responsibilities and will be among the most important people at the event. Their key areas are:

• To act as the first point of contact and lead for all safeguarding matters within the team delegation during the CAF African Schools Football Championship Qualifiers.
• To take all reasonable steps to ensure that the students’ mental and physical well-being is prioritised.
• To liaise with the CAF Event Safeguarding Manager should a concern or an allegation of harassment or abuse (be it psychological, physical, or sexual, or neglect) arise.
• To know the specific safeguarding measures for the African Schools Football Championship and the avenues available for reporting concerns.

All the boys and girls at the event will be taken through CAF Safeguarding activities to not

only provide them with information on the social impact of football, but also explain the measures that CAF have put in place to create a safe environment for the youngsters.

Boys’ and Girls’ teams from eight nations will descend on Walvis Bay next week for the qualifiers, where they will hope to qualify for the continental finals next year.

The participating nations are hosts, Namibia, Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Namibia is the third host of the CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifier. Malawi staged the tournament in the inaugural year in 2022 and Zimbabwe played host in 2023.