UK and France to educate young Africans by 2010 World Cup[fr][de] 

The UK and France will each provide eight million school places for young Africans through funding and assistance to charities and other organisations which can build new schools and train teachers. 

The joint UK-France declaration , adopted on 27 March 2008, states that the aim of this new partnership is to get every African child into school by 2015. However, it acknowledges that "halfway to 2015 the challenge is still great, with 33 million children in Africa still getting no primary education at all". Thus the UK and France are challenging others to help finance the objective of providing education for all.

"Great sporting events like the FIFA World Cup, which will be organised on the African continent for the first time ever in 2010, provide huge international momentum to use sport as a global force for change," said FIFA in a statement, promising full support for the Franco-British initiative through its own sport and education programmes in Africa, such as Football For Hope , Win in Africa with Africa and 20 Centres for 2010 . 

In 2006, the European Commission and FIFA already joined forces to promote football as a factor for development in Africa and in Caribbean and Pacific countries. The Commission-FIFA Memorandum of Understanding covers a number of areas ranging from development co-operation and humanitarian aid to racism, post-conflict reconstruction, nation building, health and education. 

Both hope that the first ever World Cup to be held in Africa will foster economic development and boost cultural exchanges with the continent in the years to come.