Legends share words of encouragement ahead of CAF African Schools Football Championship Continental Finals kick-off
Legends of the African game, Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Daniel Amokachi (Nigeria) and Abdi Kassim Sadalla (Tanzania) paid a visit to the CAF African Schools Football Championship Continental Finals boys team hotel on Monday, 20 May ahead of the start of the tournament in Zanzibar.
The three African greats who are part of the invited CAF Legends shared some words of wisdom and encouragement as the teams prepare to compete in the four-day tournament set to run between 21 – 24 May at Zanzibar’s Amaan Stadium.
In line with affording the participating youngsters an unforgettable experience at the Finals, CAF invited the legends to a special dinner for the teams where they encouraged the U-15 boys to embrace the spirit of fair play and make use of the exciting platform afforded to them by CAF.
“It is so encouraging to witness young African footballers like yourselves being afforded an opportunity to participate in such a competition. This is beyond football. It is about affording you an opportunity to learn about and from your fellow African brothers and sisters, which is what we need to encourage as fellow Africans” said Togolese legend, Emmanuel Adebayor.
“While winning is a great feeling, it is important that you display sportsmanship and fair play, as that will in the long term help you both on and off the field” he added.
The former Arsenal FC star also cautioned the budding stars about the looming danger of fake player agents who prey on African talent with deceptive promises of football careers abroad.
“You are the best young players in your respective countries, which is why you are here today. We know that you all want to be great African footballers like Jay Jay Okocha and Mohammed Salah but it is a journey. There are so many dangers to being in a rush, such as falling victim to fake player agents. They promise to take you to big clubs abroad only to take advantage of you, so we want to encourage you to be vigilant. CAF is also raising awareness about such dangers, which we encourage you to take note of and not fall victim to”, cautioned Adebayor.
The visit to the teams' hotel marks an exciting milestone to the countdown of the second season of the much-anticipated CAF African Schools Football Championship Continental Finals.
Legends of the African women’s game, Amanda Dlamini of South Africa and Jean Sseninde of Uganda also paid a visit to the girls’ hotel on Monday to share their encouragement and motivation ahead of the start of the competition on Tuesday.