Driving Sustainable Social Impact And Youth Engagement Through British Council Nigeria’s Premier Skills Programme

In Nigeria, over 200 coaches/referees and 1,500 students have been trained with skills in community football development, child protection advocacy, human rights awareness, dangers of drug abuse and the dangers of violent sexual crimes against women and girls. The British Council, as part of their 75th Anniversary in Nigeria, celebrates Premier Skills Coach, Shuaibu Mohammed Kurawa. Premier Skills is an international partnership between the British Council and the Premier League.

Premier Skills deliver a combination of classroom-based lessons and on-pitch technical sessions. Participants are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to run their community football sessions. The participating grassroots community coaches and physical education teachers are trained to deliver Premier Skills coaching techniques to untrained Nigerian football coaches and young people from the local community.

British Council thanks Shuaibu Mohammed Kurawa and the hugely successful Premier Skills initiative, run by the Premier League and the British Council, women and girls in Nigeria are being empowered beyond sports through playing football.

The programme uses football to develop a brighter future for young people around the world. Premier Skills provides opportunities for coaches, referees and players to become better integrated into their local communities, to develop their skills for employability and raise their self-esteem.

Shuaibu Mohammed Kurawa is credited for transforming the lives of girls and women in Nigeria thanks to the help and learning he received via the British Council-supported Premier Skills initiative.

Kano State had been left behind in involving girls in games and sports but since this project, they began to make budgetary provisions for the purchasing of sporting equipment for girls’ schools.

Premier Skills uses football to develop a brighter future for young people around the world, drawing upon the global appeal of the Premier League and its expertise in delivering community programmes in the UK, alongside the British Council’s global network and track record of delivery.

The pilot programme was launched in five secondary schools in the state. Shuaibu Mohammed Kurawa who is an AD, Sports in the States’ Ministry of Education and a trained coach and representative of the Kano State Football Association in the Premier Skills Programme, has been at the forefront of leading this change.

The need to engage more females in football especially in Kano and use Premier Skills to educate the youths in the different communities of Kano state on drugs, HIV/Aids, issues on rape cases and gender-based violence as well using it as a useful tool for vocational training & sensitization workshops aimed at engaging and creating awareness among young people with limited economic opportunities has been his focus. As a result, more Premier Skills Schools Clubs have been created amidst other initiatives.

British Council is inviting past programme participants to celebrate its 75th anniversary with them by submitting stories of their experience and the impact it has had. Visit www.britishcouncil.org.ng  for more information about how to participate in the 75 Stories campaign or follow #BritishCouncilNigeriaAt75 #ThankstoYou #75Stories on social media.