Organisers of Project 2027, an initiative to promote netball in Nigeria, have unveiled plans to scale up grassroots netball development in Nigeria, targeting the training and equipping of 300 teachers and community youths in 2026 as part of a broader ambition to introduce the sport to one million Nigerian schoolchildren.

The initiative, driven by the CSED Initiative (Community Sports and Educational Development), is positioning netball as a key tool for youth engagement, with particular emphasis on the girl child.

While the recent Africa Netball Cup in Malawi has highlighted the sport’s growing inclusivity across the continent, Project 2027 organisers insist that their primary focus remains on girls, for whom netball was originally designed.

According to the organisers, providing girls with access to netball in safe and structured environments can help sustain their interest in sport well beyond their teenage years, contributing to both physical wellbeing and social development.

Progress so far has been significant. At the most recent Project 2027 training programme held in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State in October 2025, 58 teachers were trained, bringing the total number of trained teachers and community youths to 511.

Netball training events under the initiative have now been conducted in nine states — Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo, Cross River, Enugu, Taraba and Rivers.

The training sessions, which are free to participants, have been delivered in partnership with state Sports Commissions and Ministries of Education, as well as non-governmental supporters including the Francis and Fidelia Ibhawoh Foundation. Bayelsa State Government earned special mention as a trailblazer after fully sponsoring the netball training event held in Otuoke in September 2025 — a move widely interpreted as a declaration of intent to become Nigeria’s leading netball state.

Beyond coaching education, Project 2027 has also explored innovative programming. Tare Pet Montessori Group of Schools partnered with CSED Initiative in 2024 to pilot the “Sporting Coders” programme and is notable as one of only two schools in Nigeria with a functioning male netball team.

Sport-for-change advocate Cornelius Ehimiaghe, a leading voice within the Naija Netball Stakeholders (NNS), described grassroots mobilisation as a national obligation.

“We have no choice, we cannot wait,” Ehimiaghe said. “It is a tough task, made tougher by challenges at the national administrative level, but we will keep pushing the boundaries. We will beg, we will borrow, but we will not steal in our bid to revive netball in Nigeria.”

Ehimiaghe also acknowledged the critical support previously provided by Lord’s Taverners, which donated 2,200kg of sports kits and equipment to the project in its final week of operations.

Looking ahead, Project 2027 organisers confirmed ongoing discussions with sporting and educational authorities, NGOs and corporate bodies to co-sponsor future training events. While funding remains the initiative’s biggest constraint, a revised co-sponsorship model is expected to help maintain training standards, with attendees responsible for producing training bibs for their schools.

Exceptions will be made for displaced and vulnerable communities, including Ogoja, where Project 2027 plans to fully underwrite training costs. Notably, four Cameroonian refugees trained as netball coaches are expected to assist in training 30 teachers in Ogoja and surrounding areas later this year.

At a broader level, Naija Netball Stakeholders also aim to stimulate more state-level competitions, encourage the formation of additional state netball associations, and support refresher programmes led by Netball Africa–certified coaches.

The group is equally mobilising the Nigerian netball community to support the global online campaign backing the inclusion of netball at the 2032 Olympic Games.

For Project 2027, the message is clear: sustained grassroots action, strategic partnerships and community ownership remain the pathway to restoring netball’s relevance in Nigeria.

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The Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has taken another step toward revitalising school sports with the successful organisation of a two-day netball seminar for secondary school teachers in Udu Local Government Area.

The training, held at Ovwian Secondary School, Udu, was co-sponsored by the Francis and Fidelia Ibhawoh Foundation and the Community Sports and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative.

 It attracted 58 teachers from both government and private schools across Udu LGA, as well as invited participants from Army Day Secondary School, Effurun (Uvwie LGA); College of Commerce, Warri; and Otokutu Secondary School, Otokutu (Ughelli South LGA).

The programme featured both theoretical and practical sessions led by Netball Africa-certified coaches—Edema Fuludu, Beauty Obamwonyi, and Onome Fuludu—supported by Ruth Opuene, a netball coach with the Bayelsa State Sports Commission. Participants were introduced to the fundamentals of netball, including the game’s seven positions and player roles, basic court marking, and game rules.

One of the major highlights of the training was a special session on safeguarding students and athletes, which emphasised the importance of creating safe environments in school sports. The seminar concluded with a practical match session, as two teams of teachers demonstrated their newly acquired skills on the court.

Chief Inspector of Education for Udu LGA, Samson Ochuko Omosonwhofa, and the Principal of Ovwian Secondary School, Mrs. Ochuko Gere, commended the organisers for introducing the game to the teachers and encouraged participants to integrate netball into their schools’ sports programmes.

Netball, originally designed for girls and women, has evolved into a more inclusive sport, with World Netball now engaging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games organisers to include the sport in future Games.

Presently, netball’s highest competitive platforms include the Commonwealth Games and the Netball World Cup, the most recent of which was held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2023.

Once nearly extinct in Nigeria, netball has seen a revival through CSED Initiative’s “Project 2027,” launched in July 2022. The project aims to introduce the game to one million Nigerian school children by training and equipping 1,000 teachers nationwide.

The initiative uses netball as a tool to promote learning, discipline, and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education among students.

At the close of the Udu seminar, participants received certificates of attendance and free netball equipment—including balls, rims, and whistles.

The event marked a new milestone as the largest single netball teacher training in Nigeria, pushing the total number of trained teachers and coaches under the CSED Initiative to over 500.

Special recognition was given to Omosonwhofa for his pivotal role in mobilising teachers and ensuring the programme’s success.

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The Bayelsa State Netball Association, with financial backing from the Bayelsa State Government, has organised a two-day basic netball seminar for secondary school Physical Education teachers in Ogbia Local Government Area.

The capacity-building programme, packaged by the Community Sports and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative, was hosted at the sports gym of the Federal University Otuoke.

A total of 26 teachers were trained as new netball coaches, receiving both theoretical and practical lessons in the sport.

Led by Netball Africa-certified coaches Edema Fuludu and Onome Edema, and supported by coaches Catherine Sasuode, Ruth Opuene and Opusam Ekinisam Ete, participants were taught court marking, warm-up routines, game positions and responsibilities, as well as safeguarding in sports.

The training ended with a practice match involving the newly trained coaches.

Despite heavy rain on the second day, the coaches remained committed to completing their practical sessions.

Each participant also received free netball starter packs — balls, rims, whistles, training bibs — along with anti-drug abuse brochures.

Speaking at the close of the seminar, Fuludu urged the coaches to transfer their knowledge to students in their respective schools, adding that inspection teams from the Association would monitor progress and that inter-school competitions would be staged before the end of the academic year.

Some of the coaches described netball as an exciting sport that builds agility and is enjoyable to both play and watch.

Coordinator of the Bayelsa Netball Association, Catherine Sasuode, thanked Governor Douye Diri for supporting the initiative and called for sustained funding to expand grassroots netball development across the state.

Last year, Bayelsa made headlines when 21 female secondary school students completed the “Sporting Coders” programme, which combined netball training with coding skills.

The state government said its support for this latest initiative is aimed at empowering the girl-child through sports and education while promoting inclusivity, as boys are also beginning to take up the game.

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