Having launched as Castle Africa 5s in 2018, Africa’s Premier Social Football League makes an impactful return for the third successive year as it launched in a star-studded event in Lagos, Nigeria on 28th February 2020. Since the launch of this unique social league, the continental five-a-side football showpiece has extended its reach to cultivate friendship bonds beyond borders.
As of 2019, the campaign has been renamed to Africa Fives, as it is more inclusive, which is seen with the collaboration of seven ABInBev brands from across Africa including Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, which were added last year. In addition to widening the League’s footprint into other countries, as a brand rooted in inclusivity and social belonging, a women’s division was introduced to the League.
The 2020 edition is set to make an even bigger impact across the continent as the tournament will be extended from 8 to 16 countries in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Furthermore, the vibrant cross-continent tournament will be open to both amateur and professional players.
Castle Lager Brand Director, Kudzi Mathabire shared her excitement for the Campaign’s refresh which will see Castle Lager partner with six other ABInBev beer brands, “Each year we aim to take this League to greater heights by expanding our footprint across the African continent. To effectively reach this footprint, we need a greater understanding of how each country operates and what better way to do so than partnering with brands that have that knowledge. Although the experience will be the same across the board, we acknowledge that each country has their own unique way of operating and we celebrate the melting pot of cultures coming together through a sport that we all love – football”, added Mathabire at the campaign media launch event in Lagos, Nigeria.
Trophy will manage the Nigerian leg of the tournament, while Castle Lager will manage six of the countries in Lesotho, Mauritius, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Carling Black Label will manage Botswana and Namibia along with Dourada (Mozambique), Safari (Tanzania), Nile (Uganda), CLUB Beer (Ghana) will each manage a single country.
2019 winners represented Ghana in Tanzania for the continental final and Ghana will begin the search to receive the best talents from the 5th of March 2020 when the campaign is launched in Accra.
Entry Dates:
| COUNTRY | BRAND | DATE |
| Botswana | Carling Black Label | 12 March -25 April |
| Ghana | CLUB Beer | 5 March -25 April |
| Lesotho | Castle Lager | 1 March -25 April |
| Mauritius | Castle Free | 2 March – 25 April |
| Mozambique | Dourada | 23 April |
| Nigeria | Trophy | 1 May |
| South Africa | Castle Lager | 15 Feb – 31 March |
| Swaziland | Castle Lager | 1 May – 25 April |
| Tanzania | Safari | 6 March |
| Uganda | Nile Special | 1 March – 25 April |
| Zambia | Carling Black Label | 1 March – 25 April |
| Zimbabwe | Castle Lager | 1 March – 25 April |
Consumers from the various countries will have to stay tuned to the allocated brand communication for entry mechanics, or visit the campaign website on www.Africa5s.com / Twitter page:- @Africa Fives or follow the #Africa5s to further engage on the campaign.
Male and female country winners from each market, will get an opportunity to represent their country at the Continental finals scheduled to take place in South Africa between the 16th and 20th of July 2020. This showpiece will see two Continental final winning teams, each bag an all-expenses-paid trip to the Serie A classic derby between Inter Milan and AC Milan later this year, hosted by the renowned legend and Africa 5s ambassador Samuel Eto’o.