NFF-Affiliated Schools Football Championship Holds Landmark Student-Athlete Wellbeing Workshop in Abuja
Oru Leonard
Abuja, June 26, 2026 – The National Schools Football Championship (NSFC) 2026 has recorded another milestone with the successful staging of the first large-scale Student-Athlete Wellbeing and Safeguarding Workshop at a national school football championship in Nigeria.
Organised by the Kick Start Sports Foundation (KSF), promoters of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)-affiliated championship, the workshop was held at the Conference Hall, Package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, alongside the ongoing NSFC National Finals.
The two-session programme brought together coaches, safeguarding officers, team captains and assistant captains from participating schools across the country to strengthen their understanding of athlete welfare, safeguarding and personal development.
The workshop was facilitated by experts including the NFF Safeguarding Officer, a CAF B Licensed Coach, the Chairman of the FCT Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), and a physiotherapist from the National Sports Commission’s Sports Medicine Department.
Participants were taken through the Seven Pillars of Student-Athlete Wellbeing—Participation, Fun, Respect, Fair Play, Health, Skill and Team Spirit. Sessions also focused on nutrition, injury prevention, mental health, managing academic pressure, player protection and safeguarding, career development pathways, and the role of the media in shaping student-athletes.
At the end of the programme, participants pledged to uphold the seven pillars throughout the remainder of the championship and completed post-workshop evaluations as part of the NSFC’s Fair Play and Team Discipline assessment framework, which aligns with international standards set by FIFA and the International School Sport Federation (ISF).
Olumawu School was recognised with the NSFC 2026 Punctuality and Discipline Award after emerging as the first team to arrive at the workshop venue, demonstrating exemplary discipline and respect. The award will be officially presented during the championship’s closing ceremony on June 29.
Speaking during the workshop, President and Founder of the Kick Start Sports Foundation, Ibrahim Bello, described the initiative as a key aspect of the competition’s developmental objectives.
“The NSFC is not just a football competition. It is a development platform. Today we invested in the character of these young people—not just their skills on the pitch. What happens in that workshop room shapes who they become long after the final whistle. That is the mission of KSF,” Bello said.
The NSFC 2026 National Finals continue at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, with the boys’ and girls’ finals scheduled for the championship’s closing day on June 29.
