Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the FIFA 11 for Health programme in increasing children’s knowledge about communicable and non-communicable diseases in five countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Method: A prospective five-cohort study was implemented in schools in Ghana (17), Malawi (12), Namibia (11), Tanzania (18) and Zambia (11). The programme consisted of eleven 90-minute sessions consisting of two 45-minute halves of Play Football (football skills) and Play Fair (health issues). Participants were boys and girls aged 10–14 years: Ghana (906), Malawi (1098), Namibia (439), Tanzania (720), Zambia (651). The main outcome measures recorded were children’s attendances at each session, their health knowledge (30-item questionnaire) before and after the interventions and the children’s evaluation of the programme itself by means of a six-item questionnaire.