“At CFK Africa, we use the ready-made network of community girls’ soccer teams to connect players with mentors and peer counselors, leading workshops on basic hygiene, health education — including sexual and reproductive health — and advocacy rights for girls.
They come to our programs to learn dribbling, passing, and shooting, but they leave knowing about how to get a job and navigate the trials of young adulthood in some of the harshest living conditions.
…
On the soccer field, these divisions melt away as players focus on working together. Soccer is, by its nature, a team sport. No single player can make it all the way down the field to score, and every defense requires a coordinated effort.
The same can be said of fighting economic disparity and gender equality in our community and around the world. Soccer teaches us that we can do great things when we work as a team and women’s soccer shows girls and young women that means them, too.
So as we all continue to watch the global phenomenon of women’s soccer, think of all the girls and young women around the world watching along with you.
And as we look forward to the next Women’s World Cup in 2027, who knows, some of them may even be out on the field.”
Read the full op-ed by CFK Africa’s Executive Director, Jeffrey Okoro, on LinkedIn.
