Benin: CAF announces synthetic pitch for school football in Cotonou

The Benin project will take the form of a synthetic pitch dedicated to football. CAF has placed Cotonou alongside several African cities set to receive educational or sports facilities, although no date for the completion of the Benin site has been announced yet.

The program transforms the prizes awarded during the African School Football Championship into investments aimed at schools and the development of sports. The initiative is based on an initial funding of 10 million dollars from the Motsepe Foundation, according to CAF.

Benin finished third in the men’s continental tournament in April 2026 in Harare. The school Cheetahs defeated Morocco 1-0 in the bronze medal match, thanks to a goal from Abel Mevowanou. This third-place finish corresponds to a prize of 150,000 dollars, with the funds from this competition reserved for educational projects and football infrastructure.

CAF has already initiated the first infrastructure handovers in this series. A school building is set to be inaugurated in Addis Ababa on September 17, followed by another in Juba on September 19. Facilities are also scheduled in South Africa and Egypt in the coming weeks.

For Cotonou, the confederation has not yet announced the beneficiary institution or the specific timeline for the completion of the synthetic pitch.