NAFA’s SHINE targets over 1,000 girls with education, employment programme

The Nigeria American Football Association (NAFA) has launched a one-year programme to equip more than 1,000 adolescent girls with sporting skills, mentorship, digital and financial literacy, leadership training and pathways to further education and employment.

The programme, known as SHINE, targets girls aged 15 to 19 across Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Imo and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), using flag football as a tool for personal development and economic empowerment.

Unveiled at The Law Hub, Ring Road, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, the initiative is designed to help girls navigate the transition from secondary school to further education, vocational training and the labour market.

NAFA Chief Executive Officer, Babajide Akeredolu, said the programme was developed to address the challenges girls face during this critical transition, particularly the inadequate coordination between education, vocational training and employment opportunities.

He said NAFA’s six years of experience in sport-for-development had demonstrated the importance of structured support for young people, citing Nigeria’s women’s gold medal victory at the inaugural African Flag Football Championship in 2025 and former mentees who had become mentors as evidence of the impact of its interventions.

Akeredolu said NAFA would assess SHINE against performance indicators agreed with its partners and publish its achievements, including areas where expectations were not met.

The initiative is implemented under NAFA’s Gridiron Gems programme through the Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa (SESLA), supported by Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through Olympism365, Laureus Sport for Good and Comic Relief.

NAFA’s Gridiron Gems Initiative Coordinator, Nancy Damhindi, also said the association’s programmes had reached more than 450,000 people across 19 states since 2020, while its Nigeria Secondary School Flag Football League had engaged over 9,000 students in 278 schools across 18 states.

She added that Gridiron Gems, launched in April 2025 in partnership with Browns Nigeria, had reached more than 2,000 girls and women through sports, mentorship, leadership and life-skills training.

Citing estimates that one in four young Africans, approximately 72 million, were not in education, employment or training, Damhindi stressed the need for targeted interventions.

She said SHINE would operate through five pillars: flag football, mentorship, digital and financial literacy, education and employability pathways, and leadership development.

Its five-stage framework, Play, Learn, Lead, Connect and Progress, is expected to equip participants with practical skills, confidence, mentoring relationships, leadership experience and clear pathways to education or employment.

The programme will monitor participation, retention, skills acquisition, mentoring, leadership development and progression into education and employment. BEMORE Empowered Girls Foundation is its delivery partner, while Browns Nigeria supports the wider Gridiron Gems initiative.

In a goodwill message, Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olusegun Olayiwola, represented by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Mrs Aderonke Ogunsina, described SHINE as more than a sporting programme, saying it offered girls opportunities to shape their future.

He described flag football as a non-contact, inclusive and Olympic-recognised sport that promotes discipline, teamwork, strategic thinking, physical fitness and leadership.

He said the initiative aligned with Governor Seyi Makinde’s vision of discovering talents and creating opportunities for young people, adding that what started as a demonstration had become a movement in Oyo schools.

Also speaking, IOC Manager, Maureen Ojong, described sports as an important tool for youth development and expressed confidence in SHINE’s potential to empower adolescent girls.

The programme will also incorporate Olympic values to strengthen value-based education and engagement among participants.