Africa: A New Chapter for African Women’s Football With CAF U17 Present Kick-Off in Tanzania

Tuesday marked an essential step ahead for girls’s soccer in Africa with the kick-off of the inaugural Under-17 Girls Integrated Football Tournament (GIFT) in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

The pilot version of the very important new event, which was launched to diversify the soccer providing on the continent and promote the emergence of latest expertise, is already residing as much as its billing.

As the groups took to the pitch on the Azam Complex Stadium for the normal warm-up session forward of the opening match, few may have anticipated the spectacle to return.

JKT Queens are a well-known title in Tanzanian girls’s soccer and have already confirmed themselves at senior stage by collaborating on the CAF Women’s Champions League 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire.

They had been up towards the younger prodigies from the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS), who like all groups on the event have a dream of changing into soccer gamers at worldwide stage.

The day started with a vibrant opening ceremony, the place younger ladies aged 7 to 12 from Fountain Gate Academy delighted the viewers with dances to rhythms from numerous areas of the African continent.

At the tip of an exciting opening match, JKT Queens secured a convincing 3-0 victory towards KAS.

Winifrida Hubert Gerald, the star participant and ahead for JKT Queens, scored two of her staff’s targets. She additionally performs for the membership’s senior staff, which participates in Tanzania’s Premier Women’s League. Her shining expertise hints at a brilliant future.

Players from KAS, together with Lindey Atieno and Mitshel Muthama, additionally impressed with their expertise, suggesting the subsequent video games will ship a greater final result for the Kenyans.

The CAF U-17 GIFT event already evokes a brand new era of feminine footballers by offering a platform for younger expertise. It will assist to establish and nurture gamers, promote gender equality in sports activities and encourage extra younger ladies to play soccer.

The expertise gained right here, following the introduction of the CAF African Schools Football Championship in 2022, will contribute to the expansion of ladies’s soccer throughout the continent, paving the best way for future stars and champions.

After the match, KAS head coach Jackline Juma stated: “It was a difficult game because my team didn’t know our opponents well, but we played well and created many chances that we failed to convert. We haven’t lost hope yet, as we still have matches to play. We will come back stronger and better prepared to win the next games.”