Female football players in Benin are winning trophies, transforming gender norms, staying in school and learning new skills to follow their ambitions.
Tigresse football club of Cobly is transforming norms for its players and the wider community. They’ve become municipal, zonal, departmental, national and regional champions on the pitch and leaders off it.
Football, which was once considered a boys’ game, is becoming increasingly accepted as being for girls in the Islamic Atacora department. This is partly due to the success of the Tigresses.
“Our team’s most memorable experiences are the many victories we’ve had at various levels: communal, zonal, departmental, national and international, making us Benin and West African champions in 2022,″ says Grâce, star striker for the Tigresses.
“Our first victory at national level was breathtaking, because no one had expected us to reach this level of competition,” says coach Martin.
Attitudes towards girls have changed
“This victory changed attitudes within the communities, boosting the self-esteem and self-confidence of the girls, who decided to brave the difficulties and face every stage with courage and determination.”
Communities in the Cobly commune face many challenges. Girls in particular come up against obstacles that prevent them from following their ambitions. School infrastructure is limited, difficult to reach and struggling families often favour boys’ schooling over girls’, causing many to drop out.
In addition, girls are often expected to carry out domestic labour and rates of child marriage and gender-based violence are high.
Girls lead change in their community
However, a football project is supporting girls to stay in school, learn new skills, lead change and make their mark on the pitch. Through life skills training, girls learned about solidarity, team spirit, leadership, public speaking, advocacy and arts.
“In addition to improving our playing skills, we learned to self-educate, defend ourselves and be role models for other girls.”
Grâce, star striker for the Tigresses
These skills will likely have boosted the results of the Tigresses but were also put into practice when the girls ran awareness raising sessions on health, education, participation and called for an end to gender-based violence. The girls have become role models for peers in their community, supporting them to take up sport and pursue their ambitions.
“In addition to improving our playing skills, we learned to self-educate, defend ourselves and be role models for other girls,” says Grâce.
“Cobly is today a flagship commune for women’s sport, recognised at national and international levels,” says Martin.
Leadership for girls through women’s football
In 2016, Plan International began implementing the Leadership for girls through women’s football initiative with 9 teams in the Atacora department. This expanded to 16 teams thanks to the support of girls, parents, teachers, religious and traditional leaders, local authorities and communities. This was part of the wider Impact-Elle project that ran from 2017 until 2022.
Following the success of the initial phases of the Impact-Elle project, Plan Benin has continued to support the girls and their teams through a new phase of the project.
Impact-Elle project is supported by the DGD programme funded by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid.
Categories: Education, Protection from violence, Sexual and reproductive health and rights, Youth empowerment
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