Elegbeta Sports Complex, Lagos Hosts Asisat Oshoala Hijab Project

ILESANMI TOMISIN ADELEKE

The Asisat Oshoala Foundation will host maiden Asisat Oshoala Hijab Project at the Elegbeta Sports Complex on Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday 16 March, 2022.

P.M. EXPRESS can report that the one-day event is put together by Asisat Oshoala Foundation with the aim of positively impacting the lives of young Muslim girls by offering them a stepping stone to hone their skills in sports.

Asisat Oshoala, captain of Nigeria’s Super Falcons, is a successful African woman footballer who is breaking grounds in her field. Being a Muslim girl herself, the FB Barcelona Femini of Spain star says she is using the hijab project to inspire younger generation of Muslim girls to participate actively in sports.

According to Oshoala, the event will feature mentorship, football challenge and exposing of the girls to some vital football basics.

“The Hijab Project will be used to mentor, tutor and gift young Muslim girls, and also let them realize that their goals can be achieved while representing Allah publicly just like I have been able to achieve my dream,” said Oshoala, who just signed contract extension with her Spanish women’s league side.

Asisat Oshoala Foundation is the brainchild of Asisat Oshoala, and this is her vehicle to impact and inspire young girls and women to be their best epressions in sports and other areas of life endeavour.

The Foundation was established to give a girl+child a voice through education, sports and entertainment, by organizing sporting, leadership, mentorship, and empowerment programmes for the girl-child.

In the area of sports interventions, the Foundation has organised Asisat Oshoala Annual Football Tournament, and the Football4Girls Project which has impacted over 5,000 girls since 2016.

This project has unearthed football gems including current Super Falcons players such as Rashidat Ajibade and Chidinma Okeke through strategic local and global partnerships with the support from Lagos State government, FC Barcelona, amongst others.

In the area of educational interventions, the existing programmes include Inspire Girls Africa Project, and the Back-to-School Project which has impacted over 3,000 girls from more than five African countries.

“Through this scheme, scholarships have been advanced to thousands of girls and supports have been given to over 100 schools in Nigeria with educational materials.