Thika to host Copa Coca-Cola Africa Cup of Nations

Kenya will begin their Copa Africa tile defence against Zimbabwe on December 2 at the M-Pesa Foundation in Thika.

Kenya, who will be represented by Copa Coca-Cola Under-16 Championship winner Serani Boys High School, were placed in in group A alongside Mozambique and Zimbabwe during the draw conducted on Wednesday in Nairobi.

The tournament enters its second edition this year. Kenya won both the boys and girls titles last year in Nakuru by edging out Nigeria and Zimbabwe respectively and will be eager to defend the boys title as the girls will not compete with organisers confirming that majority of participating countries had a challenge raising the teams.

In the Pan-African tournament, twelve (12) teams will compete against each other to determine the Under-16 champion of Africa. The participating teams include, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Namibia and the host Kenya.

“The Copa Africa Cup is a platform that will go a long way in ensuring the students are the next generation of soccer stars. The array of stars the tournament has provided to the national football teams of the participating teams is a testament of the crucial nature of the games. Our partner, The Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) has immensely supported and managed the tourney ensuring success of the games,” said Evanson Ndungu, Coca-Cola Kenya Marketing Manager.

“Previously, the company invested in taking outstanding players in specialized training in the Copa Coca-Cola global camps where they visited most of the football iconic cities. Now, we are exposing the students to friendly professional competitions, a wide range of coaches and scouts from the best football clubs all over Africa in a bid to ensure they are scouted to continue their footballing journey. We urge all football stakeholders; parents, teachers and scouts to walk with us in this journey of unearthing African football talents and skills,” said Phillipine Mtikitiki, General Manager, Coca-Cola East and Central Africa Franchise.

The participants are winners of the U-16 Copa Coca-Cola tournaments held in their respective countries. This year, the Copa Coca-Cola tournament was more than football in all schools across Africa. It sought to impact behaviour change by introducing plastic collection as part of educating the youth on the importance of a cleaner environment by taking care of plastics disposal.

In Kenya, at least 92,057.50 kilograms was collected in the entire championship period with five schools achieving the highest numbers – a feat that won them pitch refurbishment in their respective institutions courtesy of Coca-Cola. These are Mutuini High from Nairobi, St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School from the Coast, Mwiruti Mixed Secondary from the Rift and Mountain region, Bishop Okul Girls from the Nyanza region and Nyang'ori High School from the Western region.

DRAW

Pool A

Kenya

Mozambique

Zimbabwe

Pool B

South Africa

Zambia

Tanzania

Pool C

Ethiopia

Namibia

Uganda

Pool D

Burkina Faso

Angola

Botswana