Girls in Zambia and Malawi empowered through sport

When Annet Sonko started playing football with the boys in the small village of Nyawa in Zambia, the girls thought she was strange. But little by little, she persuaded them to join in.

“They looked at me strangely at first when I played football with the boys. It was almost unheard of for girls to do that,” says Sonko, who is from Kampala in Uganda.

In 2015, she took part in an exchange and spent ten months as a sports volunteer in a small village in Zambia. The exchange was part of a programme run by the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) together with organisations in Malawi and Zambia, funded by Norec.

The aim was to use sport as a way to increase girls’ participation in society, improve access to education and promote gender equality.

Exchange highlighted inequalities

You might expect the differences between two African countries located relatively close to each other to be small. For Sonko, however, the exchange was an eye-opener.

“We are all Africans. But norms and cultures differ between countries, and there are also major differences between urban and rural areas,” says Sonko.

She herself comes from Kampala, Uganda’s capital.

“When I was at home in Uganda, I was in a way too close to see the differences. When I came to the small village in Zambia, I realised how much is different, even though we also have a lot in common,” she says.

Showed them videos of girls playing football

Sonko became particularly aware of these differences when she played football with the boys – something that felt completely natural to her. The girls stood on the sidelines, shaking their heads.

“They were sceptical at first and said that girls could not play football. There were practical barriers too – girls could not, for example, wear shorts. But I didn’t give up. I showed them videos of girls playing football, and little by little they started joining in,” Sonko says.

Interest grew to the point where several football clubs were established for girls of primary school age.

Through football, the girls experienced a sense of achievement, time away from daily chores, the joy of physical activity and being part of a community.

“We also worked to include children and young people with disabilities in the activities. Everyone can take part in something,” says Sonko.

A different sense of achievement

Sonko also took the initiative to establish a literacy group for women.

“We started with 35 women, but eventually men joined too. If a community is to develop, women must also be part of that development. They need both the opportunity and the motivation to contribute,” she says.

During her exchange, Sonko also worked as an assistant physical education teacher at several schools. She discovered that PE was often given low priority because teachers lacked either the time or the necessary knowledge.

“Teachers often don’t have time to organise PE lessons. As an exchange participant, you become an additional resource. Several of the schools where I worked during my exchange have continued to prioritise PE because they have seen the benefits,” says Sonko.

For many pupils, PE offers an opportunity to show different sides of themselves, experience achievement in a new way and simply have fun.

Wanted to continue the work

After completing her exchange, Sonko wanted to continue doing similar work, preferably in Nyawa. She found a job as Youth Sports Exchange Programme Coordinator with Response Network, a Norwegian-registered non-profit organisation working to promote human rights and development through self-help groups in villages across Zambia.

The organisation has benefited from the experience Sonko gained during her ten-month exchange.

“When I returned to the village, I approached things differently than I had the first time. I had gained a much clearer understanding of what girls go through. They are often married very young and may already be pregnant by the age of 15. They miss school when they menstruate, and many drop out of school early for a number of reasons,” says Sonko.

More girls are attending school

Zambia has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, partly due to traditional practices and the low status of women and girls.

Response Network believes in development that mobilises the resources people and communities already have. The organisation supports villages in establishing self-help groups and sports activities.

Sonko says they are now seeing more girls attending school and believing that they have something to contribute to their communities.

Creating change requires participation

Through Response Network, Sonko has been involved in campaigns exploring how girls can be given the same opportunities as boys.

“We visit schools and talk about menstruation, organise leadership training and show how participating in sport can help girls avoid situations that force them to drop out of school. Through sport, they learn about participation and that you need to get involved in your community if you want to create change and make things happen,” she says.

Sonko is passionate about the role sport can play in many areas of life – particularly football.

“I had a dream of showing the world that young girls from Zambia can play football, while at the same time showing the girls the world beyond their own community,” she says.

Established a football club – with ambitions to play in the Norway Cup

In 2019, Sonko and colleagues at Response Network decided they wanted to send a girls’ team from Nyawa to the Norway Cup, one of the world’s largest football tournaments for children and young people.

That marked the beginning of Nyawa United, a football club that works to strengthen the rights of girls and women in Zambia through health, education and sport.

“We are now working towards having the girls’ team take part in the Norway Cup,” Sonko says.

In the meantime, the work of Nyawa United continues.

“We regularly bring the girls and their parents together to talk about human rights and the importance of girls and women participating at every level of society. We combine our love of football with our main goal: strengthening the rights and opportunities of girls and women,” says Sonko.

The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) is one of the organisations with the longest history of exchange with partner organisations in the Global South through an exchange programme funded by Norec.

“The overall objective of the partnership has remained the same, but the countries we have worked with over these 20 years have changed,” says Julie Karima Berg.

NIF’s vision is “Joy of Sport for All”. Through the exchange programme, sports volunteers use sport as a tool to reach children and young people in a variety of ways.

Building ties between Norway, Zambia and Malawi

NIF takes part in both North–South and South–South exchange, in what is known as triangular exchange.

“Every year, between 10 and 15 Norwegian participants go on exchange, and roughly the same number come from our partner countries, Zambia and Malawi,” says Julie Karima Berg.

All participants spend ten months on exchange, starting in August.

“We believe the length of the exchange is one of the keys to its success. Because it follows the academic year, it is practical for participants, while also giving them enough time to gain substantial experience,” says Berg.

The organisation’s long history of exchange has produced results in several areas. Among other things, the programme has played an important role in shaping NIF’s international development cooperation.

Understanding the role of sport

When Norwegian participants travel to Zambia or Malawi, they stay with host families, helping them to become part of the local community quickly.

“I took part in an exchange in Zambia myself in 2017 and 2018. It gave me new perspectives on many things. I gained a greater understanding of development and development cooperation, as well as the role sport plays in society,” says Julie Karima Berg.

NIF has also employed several former exchange participants. Their experiences abroad continue to influence different parts of the organisation.

“The formal skills participants gain through their studies in sport, culture and development cooperation at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, combined with their practical experience in partner countries, have given us skilled coaches, team managers, club administrators and grassroots volunteers in Norway,” says Berg.

Experience that makes a difference at home

In Groruddalen in Oslo, Eirin Berg stands on the sidelines at Linderudhallen, giving instructions to the girls’ under-13 handball team she has helped coach since autumn 2021.

Eirin has an extensive background in handball and has taken part in sports exchanges through NIF, both as a participant in Lusaka, Zambia, and as a team leader in Blantyre, Malawi. Among other things, she coached Zambia’s national handball team as well as school and club teams.

“I gained experience that I use in my everyday life. You develop a broader understanding of how things are connected,” says Eirin Berg.

In Norway, coaches may expect players to have the right equipment and attend both training sessions and matches. In countries such as Zambia, the circumstances can be very different.

“Girls in Zambia have other responsibilities. They have to look after siblings, prepare meals and prioritise school. All of these things come before sport. Getting angry because they don’t turn up for training simply doesn’t help,” says Berg.

“I’ve learned that things don’t have to be perfect. Being flexible can take you a long way.”

Becoming more adaptable

Berg says this is valuable knowledge for coaches in Norway too, particularly when working with multicultural teams.

“You need to understand that there are cultural differences. That becomes much easier when you have lived in another country and got to know another culture,” she says.

Her exchanges have also made her a more adaptable coach, better able to deal with situations as they arise.

“I used to plan everything down to the smallest detail. But when you’ve experienced turning up for a national team training session where nobody arrives on time, the balls are somewhere else and the pitch is covered in hay, it changes you.”