FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met with President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo to discuss, among other matters, FIFA’s continued commitment to invest in football development across Africa. The meeting, which took place in New York City – where both are present at the 77th United Nations General Assembly – came seven months after the capital city Kinshasa played host to the inaugural edition of the African Schools Champions Cup. The programme began when – in February 2019 – FIFA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Congo DR Football Association and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to organise schools football tournaments around the country of 90 million people. It was then extended to other countries with the support of the Confederation of African Football.

The competition in Kinshasa, which took place on 19-20 February 2022 and saw crowds of over 12,000 on opening day, comprised of schools’ teams from six countries and is one of many initiatives designed to help increase global competitiveness, one of the eleven pillars of FIFA President Gianni Infantino's Vision 2020-23. This meeting gave President Infantino the opportunity to provide an update on the success of the tournament and to discuss future football developments opportunities in DR Congo and across the wider African continent.