The Craig Bellamy Foundation will today Thursday, 8th March 2012 re-launch its Girls Football League across Sierra Leone giving over 200 young females the opportunity to reach new heights in sport and education.
Kicking-off on International Women’s Day with events in Makeni and Kenema, the expanded league aims to demonstrate the importance of gender equality, by offering equal opportunities to girls and boys in these regions to attend school, play football and lead their communities.
Sierra Leone is currently ranked 180 out of 187 on the UN’s Human Development Index, with gender inequality identified as one of the key issues affecting progress.
All participants in the Girls League will be given full academic scholarships. This follows a successful four-team pilot project in Makeni during the 2010-11 season that saw school attendance jump to 93%, compared with a national average for girls of just 17% (UNICEF 2009).
Speaking ahead of the launch, Tim Kellow, the Foundation’s CEO, said: “After a hugely successful debut season, we are delighted that this year’s expanded League will include more girls in new parts of the country. For many of the girls, involvement in the League has empowered them to lead change in their communities which is helping to challenge gender stereotypes that have traditionally restricted opportunities for women.”
The Girls League follows the success of the CBF Boy’s league for under-14s that was set up in 2009 with UNICEF’s support, with over 2000 young people now playing across Sierra Leone.
The CBF Youth Development League uses a unique structure that harnesses a love of football to promote education and community work among Sierra Leone’s young people with school attendance, participation in community projects, fair-play and match results given equal weighting when determining league positions.
According to information International Women’s Day (IWD) is held annually on the 8th March to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. For 2012, the theme of IWD will be “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures”.
It is recognized as a public holiday in countries across the world. Observed since the early 1900s it has grown into a global web of local activities ranging from political rallies, government activities, theatric performances, local craft markets and charity awareness events.
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