Milôkpéhou Trophy : women’s football tournament
An initiative by Sikira Antoinette Moreira
Context
In Benin, girls’ and women’s football is fast gaining in popularity, a phenomenon further boosted by the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Many girls drop out of school to focus on football even though opportunities to forge a professional career in the sport are still limited in the country.
Following a women’s club football tour in 2014, and after having completed her training as a coach, former professional footballer Sikira Antoinette Moreira decided to launch the Milôkpéhou Trophy through the Benin Association for the Development of Sport and the Arts (ADSAB). Every year, the tournament hosts around 20 young female footballers from disadvantaged backgrounds in order to improve their football skills. The players also benefit from enhanced socio-educational support.
Goals
- Foster the empowerment and independence of women and girls through football
- Promote women’s and girls’ football under appropriate conditions
- Tackle the school dropout rate among young female footballers
- Support girls in their social and professional integration
Activities
- Football tournaments and training sessions supervised by qualified coaches
- Collective socio-educational programmes and individual follow-up with adult mentors to define each young woman’s professional aspirations
- Sessions to raise awareness of body issues and sexual education run by a doctor in psychopathology
- Courses in leadership and first-aid training
Impacts
- Some 20 women from disadvantaged backgrounds have benefited from the programme
- Strengthening of the ecosystem for women’s sport in Benin
- Reduced school dropout rates among girls
Funding
- Project cost: around €53,000
- Project supported in 2019 by the Agence Française de Développement and the European Guild
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Photo credits : @ADSAB
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