Bova Under 15: EFPA and AfriCAN use grassroots football to advance nutrition, poverty alleviation and youth empowerment

The final whistle has sounded on the 6th edition of the Bova Under 15 Football Tournament, but the impact of this year's competition is expected to continue far beyond the pitch.

The tournament brought together six teams and about 75 Under-15 footballers, proving once again that grassroots football can be more than just competition. When linked to development goals, football becomes a powerful platform for nutrition literacy, education, practical skills, poverty alleviation and youth empowerment.

At the centre of this model is a three-year partnership between the Bova Under 15 Football Tournament, EFPA (Empowerment for Poverty Alleviation) and AfriCAN (African Catalyzing Action for Nutrition).

Under the tournament’s philosophy of “Playing for Community Development,” the partners have used the pull of football to engage children, youths, families and communities on issues that directly affect their wellbeing.

75 Young footballers, one broader development football

This year, the 75 players were not seen merely as footballers chasing trophies, but as young community actors capable of taking key messages from the field back to their homes, schools and peer groups.

Nutrition advocacy was central. Players participated in sessions on good nutrition, healthy food choices and the link between nutrition, health and their development as young athletes.

The engagements supported AfriCAN’s “Good Nutrition Starts With Me” Initiative.

The message is simple but critical: good nutrition starts with knowledge and informed choices. When a young footballer understands nutrition, that knowledge is shared with teammates, friends, siblings and family.

Football thus becomes a practical grassroots entry point for nutrition literacy. From Football Field to Schools and Communities. The advocacy is not meant to end with the tournament.

Plans are underway for the creation of Nutrition Clubs in selected primary and secondary schools as well as Community Nutrition Clubs.

These clubs will provide continuous platforms for nutrition literacy – discussing healthy diets, food hygiene, locally available nutritious foods, responsible food choices and the importance of good nutrition to physical and intellectual development.

The vision is to create a continuous flow of knowledge: from the football field to the school, from the school to the household, and from the household to the wider community.

In this way, the tournament becomes the starting point, not the end point, of nutrition advocacy.

EFPA links poverty alleviation with practical skills

The 6th edition also advanced EFPA’s poverty alleviation and empowerment objectives.

Participants benefited from practical small business training in soap production and Scotch egg production.

Soap-making introduced a viable income-generating skill that can support household livelihoods and economic self-reliance, while Scotch egg production showed how food preparation can become a small business opportunity, while also opening discussions on nutrition, food hygiene and safe food handling.

Together, the two activities demonstrated the link between poverty alleviation, nutrition and economic empowerment. Nutrition literacy improves food choices, while economic empowerment strengthens families’ capacity to meet nutritional and other basic needs.

Education remains central

Education remained a core pillar. Participating footballers received didactic materials and basic school supplies to support their return to school for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The initiative reflects the conviction that the development of an Under-15 child must go beyond sporting ability. While football builds discipline, teamwork, confidence and leadership, education remains fundamental to every child’s future.

Three years of partnership

Now in its third year, the EFPA-AfricanCAN-Bova U15 partnership has built a model where grassroots sport supports wider development.

For EFPA, the tournament provides a community platform for poverty alleviation, livelihood skills, education and empowerment.

For AfriCAN, it provides a grassroots channel to advance nutrition literacy directly to children and families.

For the Bova Under 15 Tournament, the partnership strengthens its six-edition vision: football must leave something meaningful behind after the trophies are lifted.

That impact may be a child returning to school with books, a youth with better nutrition knowledge, a participant with an income-generating skill, or young footballers becoming nutrition advocates in their schools.

Speaking on the partnership, *Barrister Lyonga Walterson Lyiange, Founder and Promoter of the Bova Under 15 Football Tournament*, said the collaboration reflects the original vision of using football to serve community development.

The tournament expressed appreciation to EFPA and AfriCAN for their continued support and commitment over three years, which has helped move the competition beyond conventional football into a platform connecting sport, nutrition, education, livelihood skills and grassroots development.

Beyond the final whistle

With the 6th edition concluded, focus now shifts to consolidation – particularly the establishment of school and community nutrition clubs and strengthening nutrition literacy, skills development and educational support.

Six editions in, and three years into partnership with EFPA and AfriCAN, one lesson remains clear from Bova:

A football tournament can produce champions on the field, but its greatest contribution may be the healthier, better-informed, better-equipped and more empowered children and communities it leaves behind.

That, for the Bova Under 15 Football Tournament, is the true meaning of “Playing for Community Development.”

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