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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