Minister of Youth Affairs, Jamila Bio Ibrahim, will lead other dignitaries to the 5th edition of the FAME Foundation Football Tournament, which will take place on Friday, 8th March 2024, at the Area 3 Football Pitch, Abuja, as part of the activities marking this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration.
The Executive Director of FAME Foundation, Aderonke Ogunleye, addressed the media on Wednesday in Abuja, stating that this year’s event, themed “Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress,” is a call to address the economic disempowerment of women and promote women’s advancement.
She emphasized that the tournament was organized because sports have the power to inspire and unite people, serving as a social vehicle for development in a heterogeneous country like Nigeria.
She added that sports are the only factor that unites all Nigerians irrespective of their cultural, tribal, and religious affiliations.
“This year, FAME Foundation is organizing its annual international football tournament for women.
This is the fifth edition of the match and I can say it’s one of our biggest events of the year as it brings together different women from the highest sector of society, such as the Minister of Youth Affairs, Jamila Bio Ibrahim, who will be our guest of honor, to the lowest, women from the diplomatic communities down to the market women. We all agree that sports has the power to inspire and unite people as it is also a social vehicle for development in a heterogeneous country like Nigeria.
“We have ten teams that will be vying for honor, and they are; Team FIDA (International Federation of Women Lawyers), Team EAC (East Africa Communities), Team FAME, Team USA, Team AWITA (Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture), and Team Association of Nigeria Female Students (ANFS).
Others are Team Canada, Team ASHWAN (Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria), Team Bet9ja, and Team BHC (British High Commission).
“The International Women’s Day (IWD), March 8, is a day set aside to honor the achievements of women and promote women’s rights. The theme for this year’s IWD is: “Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress.” This is a powerful call to address the economic disempowerment and promote the advancement of women.
“The challenges women are facing are enormous. This includes inadequate funding for gender equality initiatives, as only four percent of total bilateral aid is allocated to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
There is violence against women and girls because each year, 245 million women and girls experience physical or sexual violence. An estimated 110 million girls and young women may remain out of school by 2030 due to inadequate access to education and healthcare.
Also, social norms, cultural, and harmful practices such as child marriage and genital mutilation still persist in our society.
“At the event, there will be free screenings for cervical cancer, pap smear tests, hepatitis screening, breast examination, HIV tests, counseling, eye tests, among other services.
It is more important than ever that we stand firm to champion the rights of every woman and girl by investing more to accelerate progress.
Let’s continue to keep pushing and working for the gender agenda. Let’s create a world where women hold more leadership positions based on performance and live without discrimination, harassment, and violence,” the FAME boss stated.
