Hervé Renard, the only coach to win the Africa Cup of Nations with two different teams, recognises that one of strong points of African football is that players hone their skills by playing barefoot on any piece of land they can find, building up their strength and natural skills.
But Renard, who led Zambia to an improbable title in 2012 and then helped Cote d’Ivoire’s golden generation finally lift the trophy three years later, also believes that competition structure is also needed — something FIFA is helping to address with the African School Champions Cup.
The tournament will be played in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, from February 19-20 with schools’ teams from six countries and is one of many initiatives designed to help increase global competitiveness, one of the eleven pillars of FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s Vision 2020-23.
