Youth Charter Launches ‘YOUTH 4 AFRICA’ Framework: A Continental Call to Empower Africa’s Next Generation through Sport

The Youth Charter has unveiled the YOUTH 4 AFRICA Framework, is a bold continental blueprint that reimagines how sport can power Africa’s social, cultural and economic transformation. Announced in London, the initiative seeks to unify governments, sporting bodies, education institutions and businesses under one vision: to make sport a cornerstone of youth development and community regeneration across Africa.

Over three decades now, the Youth Charter has been at the forefront of global Sport for Development and Peace – (SDP) programmes. With YOUTH 4 AFRICA, the organisation is expanding its focus to Africa’s dynamic youth population, which is now the youngest and fast-growing, in the world. The call is clear; integrate sport not just as play or entertainment, but as a life-changing platform that links education, employment, health and peace-construct.

Geoff Thompson, the Youth Charter’s Founder and Executive Chair said – “Africa’s youth are the continent’s greatest resource. “But to realise their potential, we must move beyond short-term projects and embed sport into the DNA of community life, as a pathway to learning, livelihoods and leadership.”

At its heart, the YOUTH 4 AFRICA Framework recognises that sport’s power extends beyond the stadium. In African families and communities, football pitches and playgrounds are spaces of connection, mentorship and cultural expression. When properly structured, they become classrooms of life, teaching discipline, teamwork, gender respect and resilience.

By linking sport with education and skills training, the initiative hopes to address social challenges that often hold families and youth back, from unemployment to migration pressures. The model’s integration of arts, culture and enterprise pathways also acknowledges Africa’s vibrant creative industries as engines of identity and income.

Evidence of a Continental Shift: Projects like the Tibu Africa–IOM Morocco Africa Cup of Living Together and the CAF x Afreximbank Schools Football Development Programme illustrate this shift. The former brings together migrant and local youth in Morocco, using sport to foster inclusion, leadership and peace. The latter is creating a continental talent and skills pipeline, linking school football to careers in coaching, administration, media and sport technology. These examples state sport’s potential to bridge divides and build social capital in a continent where unemployment and inequality remain pressing issues.

The Youth Charter’s proposal arrives at a time when African governments are revisiting how to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063. With global investors and development banks increasingly turning toward youth-focused innovation, Youth 4 Africa positions sport as a viable economic sector — one that can create jobs, foster social cohesion, and inspire civic pride.

The framework calls on:

• African Union agencies to embed sport-for-development models into national and continental policy.
• CAF and Member Associations to extend grassroots programmes beyond talent scouting into community education and health.
• Afreximbank, AfDB and private investors to fund sport-driven infrastructure and enterprise.
• International partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, and IOM to integrate sport and culture into peace-construct and migration programmes.

At its core, YOUTH 4 AFRICA is about people. The child discovering confidence on a dusty field in Kano, the young woman leading a girls’ team in Dakar, the refugee youth in Rabat finding hope through shared play, and so on.

Sport is Africa’s universal language. If we connect it with learning, skills and opportunity, the language can turn into a force for transformation. Helping millions of young Africans become tomorrow’s leaders, entrepreneurs and peace ambassadors.