Initiative Links Sports To Digital Opportunities For Underserved Youth

The Founder and Chief Servant of Kavod Relief Initiative (KRI), Mr Ransomed Chibueze, has said football can serve as a powerful entry point for introducing underserved adolescents to technology and digital skills.

He made the statement at the Football Meets Tech: Goals for Skills programme, organised by Kavod Relief Initiative in partnership with Guardian Initiative for Community Development (GICD), held recently in Jos, Plateau State.

According to him, many adolescents in underserved communities lack access to formal education, limiting their ability to contribute meaningfully to society.
He added that football was deliberately chosen as a gateway to reach young people and link them to digital opportunities, explaining that the programme replaces conventional cash prizes with laptops, skills training and mentorship to ensure lasting impact on participants.

“I’m a fitness person, and everything I do is drawn from the interactions that I have physically. One of the prevalent issues these adolescents face is that most of them don’t have access to basic or formal education, and this means they are unable to contribute meaningfully to society.

“So one of our key strategies is using sports as an entry point to other services. Basically, it’s using sports to facilitate entry into tech and digital services, ensuring that they are empowered to contribute meaningfully to society even though they were not able to go through the four walls of a formal school.

“For cash prizes, you can’t really control what you do with them, but replacing them with skills basically tech and other digital skills like software engineering, product management, front-end development, back-end development and all of that means they are able to learn a skill that will help them contribute meaningfully to society.

“Adolescence is basically the make-or-break point for most humans. Meeting them at this stage and guiding them to make better choices and life decisions means there will be fewer social vices and more meaningful, quality adolescents, who will grow into productive adults in the near future,” he said.

Also speaking, Plateau State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Karoline Dafur, represented by the Director of Child Development, Mr Dombin Sunday, said initiatives like the programme help groom children early and prepare them for responsibility.

She stressed the importance of skills for the girl child and other vulnerable children.
“To reach the little ones, it is at this age, the younger ages, that we groom them to become something in society. Events like this football tournament and GBV lecture help to discipline them.
“When they have a skill, even if white-collar jobs are not available, they will be able to stand on their own. That is why skill acquisition is good for the girl child,” she added.

The Executive Director of Guardian Initiative for Community Development (GICD), Ubangari Donald Bitkwoet, said the partnership with Kavod Relief Initiative was natural.

Bitkwoet described the football meets tech model as innovative.
“Our objectives and priorities are aligned, especially in working with children from underserved communities with the least possible chances of realising their potentials.

“Football has its own purpose in terms of social and emotional development of children, while tech prepares them for the future, making them employable and able to solve contemporary and future problems,” he said.

Former Nigerian international footballer Mr Terry Envoh said initiatives like Goals for Skills are critical for discovering grassroots talents and preparing young people for life after football.

“I started just like this, and football is a short-term career. Acquiring skills is the best option because if anything happens, you can fall back on it,” he said.

On the community impact, the Community Leader of Angwan Rukuba, represented by Indelible Joshua Ayiki, said the programme promoted unity and talent discovery among children.

He thanked the organisers for bringing opportunities to the community.

At the end of the tournament, Team 1, tagged End Violence Against Children, emerged winners and received N200,000, while Team 4, Say No to Drug Abuse, finished second with N100,000. Laptops, scholarships and mentorship opportunities were also awarded to outstanding participants.