Community Football Club Seminars planned for March 2022

The Nigerian based Community Football Foundation (CFF), an NGO duly registered with the CAC, will host a series of international seminars to debate the future of community-owned football clubs as a means to transform the beautiful game at its most grassroots level.

The first two editions will be held in the Delta region and in Lagos on the 24-25 and 28-29 March 2022, respectively. The precise dates for each location will be confirmed in due course.

The Seminar will host a number of local and international speakers and in-person delegates will be representative of including, CFF local government coordinators,  key officials of established CFF clubs, local government officials and sports counsellors, representatives from traditional institutions, state FA’s, community relation officials, sports commissioners, local chieftaincy affairs officials and the business community at large.

The main focus of the seminar will be on international and local trends in managing community football clubs and the agenda is designed to inform, educate and prepare all major stakeholders involved in the development and promotion of grassroots sports towards the establishment of community-based football clubs in Nigeria.

Other topics that will be discussed at the Seminar include funding strategies for local community football development, facilities and sponsorship strategies for community football clubs, inclusive of international case studies.

The seminar will also include discussions around the raising of funds using social media platforms as well as looking at the strategies implemented in South Africa with the Carling Black Label and the DSTV Cups, where fans are selecting the final two teams, and how community clubs in Nigeria could successfully engage local fans and raise funds, at the same time.

Clubs will also be informed as to how they could access international funding and material support to implement the UN’s Sustainable Goals in their operations to help fight amongst others, unemployment, inequality, poverty and climate change, respectively.

According to Austin Popo, Facilitator, of the CFF, “To date we have already established more than twenty community football clubs, which includes Badagry United FC, Oke-ogun United Sports Club, Warri United FC, Uvwie United FC, Ibadan United FC, Ota United Sporting FC, laderin United FC, Ajegunle United FC, just to mention a few,  of which the groundwork was laid with our first series of seminars in 2017.”

“Our engagement with international institutions, has guided us on how to implement the best practice required to make community football clubs a reality”

Popo says, “It is our hope that all the major and relevant stakeholders will join the CFF to build the future of community football clubs through their own involvement to make this dream a reality for all communities in Nigeria.”

These seminars will also launch the UK Football Study Tour, in partnership with Gerom Media from South Africa, which will take place during the 30th anniversary of the English Premier League (EPL), in August 2022, visiting some of England’s top clubs.

According to the international coordinator of the seminar and convenor of the UK Football Study Tour, CEO of Gerom Media, Mr. Gerrit Davids, “Both these seminars and the Study Tour will provide all participants with lots of opportunity to engage their international counterparts and perhaps forge strategic partnerships for all the CFF’s local club affiliates.”

Complimentary attendance to the seminars is strictly by invitation only and at the discretion of the organisers.