CSED donates Netball equipment to Edo State Sports Commission

[FILES] Netball tournament in Lagos

Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative, has donated Netball equipment to the Edo State government. They were donated to the State Sports Commission, through the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Sabina Chikere, in preparation for the NGO’s formal launch of ‘Project 2027’ in the state.

The goal of ‘Project 2027’ is to bring netball to the attention of one million Nigerian schoolgirls before the end of 2027, the NGO said, adding that this will be achieved through the training of 1,200 Physical Education (P.E.) teachers, who are expected to impart the knowledge gained into their students.

The trained teachers will be provided with free netball starter pack, which includes netball balls, rims/nets, finger-held whistles and training bibs.

Presenting the netball equipment on behalf of CSED Trustees, the National Coordinator of CSED, former Super Eagles midfielder, Edema Fuludu, said the founder of CSED Initiative, Cornelius Ehimiaghe, is keen to make Edo State the hub of netball development in Nigeria.

“Netball is a girl-child/woman exclusive sport and it can be used to empower the girl child, promote their health, improve their level of literacy and the general well-being of our youths. Netball is played by more than 20 million people all over the world and is a usual feature in the Commonwealth Games.

“The organisers of the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane (Australia) is currently exploring with the IOC the possibility of including netball as one of the events of the 2032 Olympic Games,” Fuludu stated.

He continued: “CSED Initiative is of the view that we cannot talk about gender balancing in the sports ecosystem in Nigeria when netball has been neglected and is almost unheard of