Initiative intensifies grassroots drive to reach one million Nigerian schoolchildren
By Our Reporter
Organisers of Netball Project 2027 have announced an ambitious plan to train and equip 300 teachers and community youths across Nigeria in 2026, as part of efforts to bring the sport to the attention of one million Nigerian schoolchildren.
The initiative, driven by the Community Sports and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative and its partners, is designed to deepen grassroots participation and improve the visibility of netball nationwide, with a special focus on the girl child, for whom the sport was originally created.
Despite growing continental inclusion, highlighted by the recent Africa Netball Cup in Malawi, Project 2027 organisers insist that sustained engagement of young girls in safe and structured environments remains central to their mission, ensuring long-term participation beyond the teenage years.
At its most recent training event in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State in October 2025, the project trained 58 teachers, bringing the total number of trained teachers and community youths to 511. So far, netball training programmes under Project 2027 have been held in nine states—Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo, Cross River, Enugu, Taraba and Rivers.
The free training sessions are organised by CSED Initiative in collaboration with partners including the Francis and Fidelia Ibhawoh Foundation, state Sports Commissions and Ministries of Education.
The Bayelsa State Government has been commended as a trailblazer for fully sponsoring a netball training event in Otuoke in September 2025, a move widely seen as a signal of the state’s ambition to become Nigeria’s leading netball hub.
In a related development, Tare Pet Montessori Group of Schools, in partnership with CSED Initiative, jointly piloted the “Sporting Coders” programme in 2024. The school is also one of only two in Nigeria with a functioning male netball team.
Speaking on the vision behind the project, sports-for-change advocate Cornelius Ehimiaghe described the mobilisation of Naija Netball Stakeholders (NNS) as a national responsibility.
“We have no choice; we cannot wait. It is a tough task, made tougher by some challenges at the national level, but we will keep pushing the boundaries to promote the rights of Nigerian children to play netball on their own terms,” he said.
Ehimiaghe also revealed that although Lord’s Taverners, the project’s major kits and equipment supporter, has ceased operations, it donated 2,200kg of sports kits and equipment to CSED in its final week.
He noted that discussions are ongoing with sporting and educational authorities, NGOs and corporate organisations in prospective host states to improve training delivery, adding that funding remains the biggest challenge.
To sustain standards, Project 2027 has adopted a co-sponsorship model involving NGOs and Sports Commissions, while participants will be responsible for producing training bibs for their students. Exceptions will be made for displaced and vulnerable communities, including Ogoja, where the project will fully fund training activities.
According to the organisers, four Cameroonian refugees trained as netball coaches are expected to play key roles in training 30 teachers in Ogoja and neighbouring areas later this year.
Beyond training, the NNS aims to stimulate more state-level netball competitions, encourage the formation of additional state netball associations, and support Netball Africa-certified coaches to conduct refresher courses for teachers and new schools.
The stakeholders have also called on the Nigerian netball community to support the online bid for netball’s inclusion in the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia, describing it as a crucial step in the sport’s global advancement.
