The streets of Ajegunle are set to come back alive with renewed function as a daring grassroots soccer initiative, “Let Her Play,” prepares to kick off with a transparent mission—empowering younger ladies and reshaping the way forward for girls’s soccer in Nigeria.
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Unveiled in Ajegunle, Lagos, the 10-week programme is focused at ladies beneath the age of 14 and can run from February 3 to April 11, 2026, on the iconic New Maracana Stadium, Tolu.
Coaching classes can be held each Saturday from 9:00am to 10:30am, utilising the venue’s eight seven-aside pitches to create a structured, secure and satisfying studying surroundings.
The initiative is predicted to draw over 250 ladies, lots of whom can be experiencing organised soccer for the primary time.
On the finish of the programme, 30 excellent individuals can be chosen for additional empowerment and improvement, offering a transparent pathway for expertise identification and long-term development.
Talking with Sports247 the programme, Director Basic of Sports activities, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Native Authorities, Mark Anthony, described Let Her Play as a landmark challenge for ladies’s soccer improvement within the nation.
“Let Her Play is greater than only a soccer programme; it’s a assertion of intent,” Mark Anthony mentioned.
“We’re creating alternatives for younger ladies in Ajegunle to dream, to compete and to imagine in themselves.
This initiative will take girls’s soccer improvement to a brand new stage in Nigeria by ranging from the grassroots and constructing confidence, self-discipline and character by way of sport.”
The programme has been fastidiously structured to make sure progressive studying and holistic improvement.
The opening weeks will concentrate on constructing sturdy foundations, adopted by talent improvement and health enhancement.
Because the programme progresses, individuals can be launched to recreation consciousness and tactical understanding, earlier than rounding off with remaining preparations, a mini match and celebratory actions.
All through the 10-week interval, individuals will profit from the steerage of native coaches and mentors, participating in fun-based drills, small-sided matches and common coaching classes lasting between 60 and 90 minutes.
Whereas soccer abilities are central, equal emphasis can be positioned on teamwork, self-discipline and self-confidence.
The anticipated affect of Let Her Play extends far past deciding on prime performers.
Organisers purpose to enhance bodily health and self-belief amongst all individuals whereas strengthening group involvement in ladies’ sports activities improvement.
By offering a secure, inclusive and supportive surroundings, the programme seeks to problem long-standing boundaries to feminine participation in soccer.
With sturdy backing from the Ajeromi-Ifelodun Native Authorities and a transparent improvement framework,
Let Her Play represents a major step towards nurturing the subsequent era of feminine footballers—ranging from Ajegunle and with the potential to encourage comparable initiatives throughout Nigeria.
