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By Ebube Dike

Determined to promote the beautiful game of netball in Edo State in particular and Nigeria generally, a Non-governmental Organisation, Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) initiative have launched “PROJECT 2027” policy aimed at promoting netball at the grassroots and training of 1200 teachers in Physical Education, www.bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

Speaking during the launching at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, Edo State on the National Coordinator of CSED, Edema Fuludu said that the founder of NGO Cornelius Ehimiaghe is keen to make Edo State the hub of netball development in Nigeria.

“The goal of PROJEC 2027” is to bring netball to the attention of one million Nigerian school girls before the end of 2027.

“This, the NGO believe will be achieved through the training of 1200 P.E. teachers who will then impart the knowledge gained into their students.

“The trained P.E. teachers will be provided with free netball starter pack (netball balls, rims/nets, finger-held whistles and training bibs).

With the obvious gap in gender balancing in sports, CSED believes that coordinated and effective grassroots campaign at the secondary school level will help to change the narratives in netball, a game played by female gender and lamented that the netball sport which gained so much prominence in the 1970s, had lost its glory because of lack of focus and proper planing to sustained the gains made in the past.

“CSED Initiative is of the view that we cannot talk about gender balancing in the sport ecosystem in Nigeria, when netball has been neglected and is almost unheard of in the sporting calendar at both the grassroots and national level.

“In the 1960s and 70s, netball was played in girls’ secondary school and Teachers Training Colleges all over Nigeria. At that point in time, female football was a novelty event, while netball was vying for superiority with athletics and handball. Among female students in Nigeria, netball was more widely played than basketball in Nigeria in the 1960s and 70s,” Mr Edema a former Super Eagles player said.

Netball is played by more than twenty million people all over the world. It is a usual feature in the Commonwealth Games and the organizers of the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane (Australia) are currently exploring with the International Olympic Committee, IOC, the possibility of including netball as one of the events of the 2032 Olympic Games.