By: Liana Rhodes
When I was younger, swimming was simply something I did after school. I never spent much time thinking about how unusual that opportunity was. It was only as I got older, and spoke to more girls from different backgrounds, that I realized many had never been given the same chance.
When discussions about girls’ participation in sport arise, the conversation often focuses on motivation. Why aren’t girls interested? Why don’t they sign up? Yet I think these questions miss a more important point. In many cases, the issue is not a lack of interest instead it’s a lack of opportunity.
Across Nigeria, girls face barriers that make participating in sport far more difficult than it should be. Some are financial whilst others are cultural. Many are so normalised that we rarely stop to question them.
One of the most obvious barriers is cost. Participating in organised sport often requires equipment, transport, coaching fees, and most importantly time. For families facing financial pressure, sport can feel like a luxury rather than a necessity. If a family must choose between paying for educational resources and paying for football boots, the decision is understandable. The problem is that these small decisions accumulate over time, leaving many talented girls without access to opportunities that could benefit them both physically and socially.
There is also a visibility problem. Young athletes often need role models. In recent years, Nigerian women such as Tobi Amusan and Asisat Oshoala have achieved incredible success, yet media coverage of women’s sport remains significantly lower than that of men’s sport. It is difficult to aspire to something you rarely see. If young girls are not regularly exposed to successful female athletes, sport can begin to feel like a space that was never designed for them.
Cultural expectations can also play a role. While attitudes are changing, some girls still receive subtle messages that sport is less important for them than for boys. These messages are rarely explicit. Instead, they appear in small ways: fewer opportunities at school or assumptions about what activities are considered appropriate. Over time, these expectations can shape the choices girls make about themselves.
The consequences extend beyond sport itself. Research consistently shows that participation in sport is linked to improved confidence, leadership skills, teamwork, and physical health. In other words, when girls are excluded from sport, they are often excluded from opportunities to develop skills that benefit them throughout their lives.
So how can participation be increased?
First, schools should invest more heavily in girls’ sports programmes. For many young people, school is their primary point of access to sport. Expanding opportunities within schools removes some of the financial and logistical barriers that prevent participation.
Second, greater visibility should be given to female athletes. Success stories matter. Highlighting the achievements of Nigerian sportswomen helps challenge stereotypes and demonstrates what is possible.
Finally, sport should be viewed not as an extracurricular luxury but as an investment. Discussions about education often focus exclusively on academic outcomes, yet sport develops many of the same qualities that schools seek to cultivate: discipline, resilience, teamwork, and confidence.
The question is not whether talented female athletes exist in Nigeria. They clearly do. The real question is how many potential athletes never get the chance to discover their talent in the first place.
Until more girls are given that opportunity, Nigeria risks leaving both sporting talent and human potential on the sidelines.
