The Youth Charter AFCON Soccerwise Report was launched at the African Sports Unified Connex Summit 2024 in London. The report reflects a 30-year journey in the role of football and its social, cultural and economic impact in the lives of young people and communities from areas of historical deprivation and disadvantage locally, nationally and internationally.
 
2024 has been an historic year that saw young talent from the African Diaspora on all continents representing teams that have competed in the All-African Nations Cup, the Euros and the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. All of these tournaments have served as a catalyst for fostering hope and resilience among the diverse communities they represent.
 
With the international tournament schedule and respective domestic leagues, such as the Premier League, providing a continued platform by which this Diaspora talent applies their skill, talent and potential, there has never been a more important time to look at the Sport for Development eco-system and movement working in a more holistic and integrated approach.
 
Soccer is more than just a game, it is a powerful tool in the personal and social development of young people’s lives and the communities that they themselves represent and as a result, inspire hope and opportunity beyond the pitch, with life lessons that extend and reflect many youth development programmes, not only across the African continent, but with that, representative identities in communities globally.
 
This report attempts to address the continued challenge of a truly collaborative approach and multi-stakeholder working in a global community in the everyday lives of the young people that we are all committed to empowering.
 
The Youth Charter Community Campus is a youth and community engagement model that provides a cultural framework that maps, tracks and measures the sport for development impact against the UN 30 Sustainable Development Goals.
 
The #GlobalCall2Action simply delivers a platform where we can harness the power of soccer to provide sustainable and evidenced impact with the resulting positive change representative of a legacy that will resonate in the hearts and minds of generations to come.
 
The Youth Charter provides following two key recommendations for this report:
 
English, European and World Football to ensure that players who represent their countries are provided with a universal basic player’s fee (similar to the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup)
World Football to invest in Soccerwise Community Campuses, including Africawise Community Campuses, using Sport, Art, Culture and Digital Activities to help reduce the number of out-of-school children and deliver SDG 4, SDG 3, SDG 16, SDG 11, SDG 8, SDG 17 and SDG 1