Sikiru Abiona Yusuff

I am a Development, Tourism and Teaching and Learning Economist and has been doing research in development (particularly rural) and regional economics for the past 18 years looking specifically at poverty, youth in rural areas, gender and other socio-economic issues. Good knowledge of research and project management skills have been acquired with involvement in projects across disciplines. Currently, I am a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics and have taught both microeconomics and macroeconomics to first year, micro to second years, monetary Economics to third years and Economics of tourism + economic development and environment to honours students and 4th year Human Settlements students. The first year comes from different faculties.

ABSTRACT:

“We Should Play More with the Boys”: Social Motivations and Female Athletes Struggles in a Sports Academy.

Sikiru Yusuff Abiona, Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding – Nigeria

Scholarly discussions across disciplines and cultures have continued to be drawn to the ability of sports to serve as a catalyst for social change. In Africa, sports are being used as a vehicle for numerous development projects, including those pertaining to female inclusion, financial development, social mobility for marginalized youths, and education. While sports academies have primarily targeted male athletes since they first appeared in Africa in the 1990s, there is a rising number of aspiring female athletes enrolling in sports academies around the continent (Dubinsky, 2022). However, little is known about the driving forces behind and social and institutional barriers that female athletes face at sports academies, as well as how these barriers can harm their professional aspirations. The daily realities of female athletes at Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy (SOCA) are examined in this paper. Founded in 2007 by a Nigerian ex-international Segun Odegbami, SOCA is a co-educational facility that combines sports and education. The paper focuses on the background and motives of the female athletes’ enrollment in the academy, drawing on three months of ethnographic fieldwork. It examines the girls’ daily struggles with the teachers, coaches, and male counterparts, as well as their coping mechanisms. The difficulties they face represent a significant setback, despite the fact that the girls’ envisioned aims corroborate their understanding of sports as a weapon for social change, including breaking down gender barriers and norms and giving strong leadership push for females.