Netball
Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) at it again! Takes ‘Project 2027 Netball training to Uyo
St. Cornelia Connelly College, Uyo recently hosted a two-day training of Physical Education teachers in netball. The event which was powered by CSED Initiative in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Secondary Education Board (SSEB).
The SSEB Director of Sports Pastor Emmanuel Ebong who represented the Chairman of the Board, Dr Ekaete Ebong Okon declared the netball training event open. Dr Ekaete Ebong Okon expressed her delight to witness the return of netball which she played in her secondary school days.
46 Physical Education teachers (including two secondary school students) drawn from all the local government areas of the state attended this introduction to netball training that was conducted by three Netball Africa certified coaches; Dr Grace Ataha, Edema Fuludu and Onome Edema.
The Head of Department of Physical and Health Education of the University of Uyo, Professor Ukeme Eyo also attending the opening ceremony of this training event. Professor Ukeme Eyo thanked CSED Initiative for choosing Akwa Ibom state to be one of the first three states in Nigeria to hold the training of teachers in netball.
The three Netball Africa coaches took turn in teaching the participants the theory and practical skills of the game of netball.
The first day was basically the theoretical aspect of the game. The participants were taken to the marked grass netball court, where they were taught about the dimension of the netball court and were showed some of the basic netball kits/equipment (finger-held whistles, netball balls, practising bibs and netball rims/post). This was then followed by netball warm up exercises, ball throwing and catching exercises.
On day 2, most of the training took place in the marked grass netball court. Basic netball drills were introduced after the participants were divided into four teams.
This field practice enabled the participants to put into practice what they have learned about the seven positions of netball and the responsibilities of the players based on their position. This was then followed by a netball practice session.
The Netball Africa coaches also talked to the participants about their safeguarding responsibility by ensuring that students who take part in sports activities do so in a safe and abuse-free environment. Dr Grace Ataha also gave a brief talk about the negative impact of drug abuse in the wider society and the sport ecosystem.
In his closing remarks, the SSEB Director of Sports promised to introduce netball in Akwa Ibom youth games and inter-house sports competitions in future.
He urged the trainees to retrain others and make sure that the game flourishes in the state. A representative of the participants, Charity Etukudo thanked CSED Initiative for their kind gesture of training and equipping the P.E. teachers for free. She promised to make good use of the knowledge gained at this training event for the good of her students.
At the end of the training session, certificates of attendance and 31 netball starter packs (netball rims/nets, netball balls, finger-held whistles and two separate colours of netball training bibs) were given to the participants.
However, given the large turn-out of the P.E. teachers, CSED Initiative will arrange for 12 additional netball starter packs to be distributed within the next two weeks.
The Akwa Ibom netball training event brings to 108, the number of P.E. teachers and community youths that have been trained under the two-day “PROJECT 2027,” netball training programme in Nigeria. “PROJECT 2027” aims to promote SDG 5 (gender equality), by bringing the game of netball to the attention of one million Nigerian school girls before the end of December 2027. Netball is currently the only sport that is specifically developed for girls and women.
As part of the sports events marking the Refugee Week 2024 and the International Olympic Day, a netball exhibition event drawing participants from three refugee camps in Cross Rivers State of Nigeria took place.
The venue was the netball field of Adagom Camp 1 and participants were from Adagom 1, Adagom 3, and Ukende refugee camps in Ogoja Local Government area of Cross River State. The event was organized by CSED (Community Sport and Educational Development) Initiative with the approval and support of the PM of SEMA, the Adagom 1 SEMA Supervisor, and the leaders of the three refugee camps.
Twenty players from each camp were kitted by Lord’s Taverners and CSED Initiative. Each netballer was provided a sport book (“Kick It”) that was donated by the Uxbridge library of London Borough of Hillingdon (UK).
The netballers from the Ukende camp won the two exhibition games. The highlight of the event was the presentation of a five thousand Naira, educational vouchers to each of the sixty netballers.
It would be recalled that netball was recently introduced to the three Ogoja refugee camps after CSED Initiative “Project 2027” training of P.E. teachers in Cross River state was held in April 2024. The “Project 2027” training event led to the certification of coaches Stephanie Obi, Marceline Ode, and Shantel Eseh, who are Cameroonian citizens.
These three coaches are now charged with the responsibility of providing the girls and ladies in their respective camp with access to learn the basic of netball, identify, and nurture the talents of the budding netballers.
CSED Initiative with the support of Lord’s Taverners, UNHCR, Cross River SEMA, and other relevant partners/stakeholders hope to use access to playing netball to provide psycho-social support and access to educational/life skills training opportunities to the residents of the three camps.
The immediate goal of CSED Initiative is to build a multi-purpose cement playing surface for the use of the netballers in each of the separate camps.
Furthermore, some of these netballers will have access to take part in the “Sporting Coders” programme, which will allow them access to learn how to code, while at the same time playing netball.
The organisers of the event stated that their ultimate goal is to give the Cameroonian refugees a sporting chance to compete with other girls all over the world; in an attempt to feature in the netball event of the 2032 Olympic games in Brisbane.
The Cameroonians will definitely be inspired by the story of Mary Cholhok Nuba, a former South Sudanese refugee, who is now a netball superstar in England.
The Nigeria Football Federation president, Ibrahim Gusau has revealed the five tacticians who will assist the new Nigeria manager, Finidi George. Sports Village Square’s investigation reveals that four of the five coaches either have roots or links in Nigeria.
The only exception is Mehmet Ozturk who is from Turkey. He will be the team’s match reader and analyst. The 59 year old have had stints with various European teams.
Daniel Amokachi is well known as a former Super Eagles player. He is joined by Benjamin James, Chima Onyeike and goalkeeper trainer, Olatunji Baruwa.
Benjamin James had previously featured for Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Super Stores of Lagos. He is from Bayelsa State.
He later moved to Italy and Germany. For years, he was with Bundesliga club Hoffenheim. He will be the fitness trainer as he has a diploma in fitness from the sports university and has worked with various top European clubs like VfB Stuttgart, PAOK and Willem II.
Chima Onyeike is a Dutch coach of Nigerian origin.
Current World Netball Ambassador, Mary Waya has restated her commitment to promote the development of netball in Nigeria at the grassroots, schools and community levels, with the ultimate goal of leading to the emergence of netball clubs in future.
She made this known recently during a telephone discussion with a Trustee of CSED Initiative, the sport for change NGO that is currently blazing the trail for the development of netball at the grassroots and school levels in Nigeria.
Waya is the ex-Tanzania, Namibia, and Malawi national netball coach. She is also a former coach of Mavericks Netball Team of England that plays in the Netball Super League.
It would be recalled that in March 2020, Waya facilitated the training and Netball Africa certification of 24 Nigerians, as netball coaches.
At the time Mary Waya visited Nigeria in March 2020, Nigeria had just recorded her first few cases of Covid-19.
She defied Covid-19 in order to lay the foundation for the revival of netball in Nigeria.
At that point in time, netball in Nigeria was not only in a state of coma, it was like a patient in an isolation ward that has been abandoned to die an untimely death.
After the post- Covid-19 restriction was lifted in Nigeria, and normalcy gradually returned to the sport and education sectors, CSED Initiative started its “Project 2027” grassroots netball development programme in July 2022.
The major goals of “Project 2027” are to bring the game of netball to the awareness of one million Nigerian school children, train and equip one thousand two hundred P.E. Teachers in netball, and through the process promote the right to play netball of the Nigerian school girls.
Till date, CSED Initiative through their “Project 2027” programme has trained and equipped more than 350 P.E. Teachers, athletes, and community youths to become netball coaches.
The trained netball coaches have subsequently introduced netball to school students in seven states in Nigeria.
The next state on the “Project 2027” netball tour is going to be Cross River State.
Waya stated that her goal is to see that the foundation she laid in March 2020 is built upon by credible Nigerians who have the game of netball at heart.
She stated that she is willing to visit Nigeria soon in her capacity as a Netball Africa trainer to support the developmental work of CSED Initiative and any other NGO or government agency with passion and technical knowledge and use netball to develop the potentials of the girl child in Nigeria.
Waya mentioned that her future focus in respect of supporting the development of netball in Nigeria is to nurture and develop more Netball Africa certified coaches.
As well as develop the netball umpires and administrators who will take Nigerian netball to the next level.
She stated that she is particularly pleased to know that CSED Initiative has started discussion with the Department of Human Kinetics and Sports Science of UNIBEN and University of Uyo with a view of collaborating with them in respect of introducing a certificate programme in netball, as well as piloting an online sport for change course that would be specifically targeted at female teachers and female athletes. T
The two university departments would also be supported to carry out research on how sport for change practitioners could use netball and other sports to support, safeguard, and empower vulnerable persons (IDPs, wards of the state, and refugees) in Nigeria.
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