FIFA, AFD join hands to implement pro-women projects in Africa

09 / 08 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

FIFA and the French Development Agency (AFD) teamed up to implement several projects in Africa with an aim to bring people closer together through the inclusion of women in society and the fight against inequality.

In June 2019, FIFA signed an agreement with the AFD recognizing football’s importance as a driver of development. Thanks to their partnership, a number of projects will be rolled out in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa in the near future. The plan is to extend them to other countries in the years to come.

In pursuing its Sport and Development strategy, the main objective of which is to bring people closer together through the inclusion of women in society and the fight against inequality, the AFD is committed to ensuring that all the projects it funds promote gender equality. It will be giving its backing to projects tackling these problems through to 2022.

The targeting of these shared objectives and the desire to pool resources to achieve them is at the heart of this ground-breaking partnership between world football’s governing body and one of Europe’s largest development agencies.

As part of the partnership, four projects will soon see the light of day.

The first project – Championnes – will provide support for 6,000 girls in Guinea, Benin and Togo and 1,000 of their family members. Its main aim is to use football to give these young players a quality education in a safe environment. This pilot project, which will run until 2023, promotes women’s football as a tool for empowering girls, safeguarding children’s rights and fighting gender-based violence.

The second project – Football versus Covid-19 – will see the launch of a call for proposals across Africa in a bid to combat Covid-19. Public and private football stakeholders will be invited by FIFA and the AFD to put forward initiatives that harness the values of football to tackle the ongoing health crisis.

The third project – Support for Guinea – has put funding from the FIFA Forward development program to excellent use in building the first football academy for girls in Africa. The AFD is giving its backing to this ambitious social project over a period of three years, providing support for the education that girls attending the academy will receive. The initiative also includes a gender-based violence and child protection awareness program for the academy’s employees, a scholarship system and logistical support.

The fourth project – Backing for Benin – is meant to construct and renovate of school football pitches in Benin. The initiative follows on from an agreement signed in January 2020 by FIFA, the Beninese Football Association (FBF) and the Beninese government for the development of grassroots football and the creation of a physical education program and a school football championship for girls and boys.

In lending its support to the venture, the AFD wants to ensure that children can play their favorite sport in a secure environment that encourages their development. These projects all seek to show how football can have a positive impact for African youngsters in terms of gender equality, education, health and other issues.

The two partners are expected to continue working together on new projects in the future to guarantee the development of football as a vehicle promoting equality and inclusion.