Youth are our future. Youth education, health and employment, especially for girls and young women, is a major focus of the United Nations MDGs. East African Cup (EAC) is Africa’s largest annual youth football tournament for both boys and girls aged between 12 to 16 years. This year’s tournament will gather a total of 50 football teams and 4 cultural groups from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. This shall involve over 1000 boys and girls in Moshi, Kilimanjaro-Tanzania from 22nd to 28th June 2009.
Our previous experience has shown that sport can decisively contribute to productive youth development, enabling children and youth to become mentally and physically healthy adults, as well as productive and socially responsible members of society.
As a result, this tournament will not only focus on football but also involves seminars on conflict resolution transformation, leadership and networking, HIV/Aids awareness, coaching and laws of the game and injury prevention and first aid. The tournament will also provide a unique opportunity for cultural networking and exchange. And finally – the tournament is entering into a unique cooperation with the BBC initiative “Your Game” to train media. A total of 10 journalists from East Africa shall be trained on how to report on sports for development. Another 10 participants from the partner NGOs shall be trained on how to use media skills to promote their organizations activities.
This year’s tournament will have 26 boys’ teams (56%), 20 girls’ teams (44%) and 4 cultural groups of 15 participants each. A total of over 100 matches in 12 different leagues will be played.
This tournament is organized by partner organizations namely KRIK, NPA, MYSA, CHRISC, and EMIMA.
Visit the official website www.eacup.org
About the organisers
KRIK Norway -is the international section of – Kristen Idrettskontakt (Norway). It is also known as GlobalKRIK. It is a founding partner for EAC, and EAC is only one of the projects they participate in internationally.
www.krik.no
Norwegian People Aid (NPA TZ) -is an NGO based in Norway. NPA has developed an extensive programme in Tanzania in which a primary focus is on youth rights and the right to participate. The EAC is an important tool in this regard.
www.npaid.org
Christian Sports Contact (CHRISC East Africa) -is an NGO in East Africa run by youths themselves in collaboration with local churches and institutions, CHRISC Norway and the Stromme Foundation. The vision of CHRISC is to empower young people in Eastern Africa through sport, education, leadership training, faith/moral development, and health information. CHRISC programs are found in Southern Sudan which has approximately 750 participants in 3 districts, Tanzania 7,300 participant in 8 districts, Uganda 6,500 participants in 8 districts, Kenya 6100 participants in 6 districts and Rwanda which is still in its infancy.
www.chrisc.org
Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA Kenya) - is a self-help program linking sports with environmental clean-ups, AIDS prevention, leadership training and other community service activities involving approximately 20,000 young people. Started in 1987 within Mathare slum in Nairobi – Kenya, the organization has grown from a small youth group to an internationally renowned youth serving organization that promotes sports for development.
www.mysakenya.org
Elimu Michezo na Mazoezi (EMIMA Tanzania) - is a volunteer youth sport and community service organization in Tanzania. Today, over 2000 youth participate in their programs. EMIMA, which stands for Elimu, Michezo na Mazoezi, is a community driven non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Dar-es salaam, Tanzania. Its main purpose is to integrate sport and physical activity into the development process.
http://www.emima.org/