Africa’s women football legends, Tabitha Chawinga from Malawi and Gaelle Enganamouit of Cameroon, represented the continent at the inaugural FIFA Player Impact Programme.
The programme, which started in August this year in Paris, France, brought together 14 of the world’s most influential female footballers.
The cohort is part of a pilot project with a simple and fundamental objective: to empower female professional footballers to leverage their platforms, voices, and resources for positive social change.
The 14 selected representatives include: FIFA Women’s World Cup winners, legends and some of the best players in the women’s game. The programme allowed players to design and lead their own social impact initiatives.
Therefore, for Africa, Chawinga, who is captain of the Malawi national team and plies her trade with Lyon in France, plus Enganamouit, the former captain of Cameroon, were selected.
Other representatives include: Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada), Tierna Davidson (USA), Melchie Dumornay (Haiti), Mary Earps (England), Formiga (Brazil), Laura Georges (France), Saki Kumagai (Japan), Alessia Russo (England), Bunny Shaw (Jamaica), Malia Steinmetz (New Zealand), Seba Tawfiq (Saudi Arabia) and Lydia Williams.
Drawing on their personal experiences both on and off the pitch, the players have focused on causes they care about – from supporting female leaders or single mums, to expanding girls’ football academies.
By channelling their influence into action, the programme is helping some of the sport’s biggest names create real, lasting change, reflecting FIFA’s commitment to expanding opportunity and access for women and girls around the world.
With support from FIFA and expert guidance from a leading external specialist in sports social impact, players have benefited from three months of personalised coaching following the initial three-day workshop hosted in Paris.
After three months of training and support, the 14 footballers in the pilot project cohort – including some of the most recognisable names in the game – reconvened in London this month for the opportunity to pitch their social impact ideas to a panel.
The pitches, presented to FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis, former Afghanistan international and foundation founder Khalida Popal and Olivia Hall, philanthropist and founder of Firebird Collective, triggered seed funding from FIFA, enabling players to execute their initiatives.
For many players, using their platform to create social change has long been a goal, and this programme provides the guidance and resources to turn that vision into reality. With FIFA’s expertise and dedicated support, participants will benefit from coaching, financial assistance, and global promotion.
