About the Project

Collective effort is central to advancing gender equality. Since 2023, Common Goal has been implementing a new chapter of Equal Play Effect, this time in Africa, led by Common Goal, Moving the Goalposts Kilifi and Soccer Without Borders Uganda, and funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The project establishes and facilitates a pan-African network of sport for development and gender equality champions who implement the sport for development approach as a tool for raising awareness about gender equality, transforming gender roles, and promoting a positive image of masculinity. Thereby, equal access to opportunities for girls and boys on and off the pitch is unlocked by transforming the sports (for good) ecosystem in Africa through collective action to create more inclusive, safe and equitable spaces for all.

To drive the network and create vivid sub-regional communities, four Regional Hubs were established in North, East, West and Southern Africa. These four Hubs are:

• North Africa: Tibu Africa (based in Morocco)
• East Africa: Soccer Without Borders Uganda (based in Uganda)
• Southern Africa: Kick4Life (based in Lesotho)
• West Africa: Tackle (based in Côte d'Ivoire / Senegal) 

The Hubs participated in a capacity development programme and contextualised it to their sub-regions afterwards. They further facilitated this programme through trainings to ten other non-profit organisations in their region and thereby engaged 40 additional sport for development actors in the network. The project is supported by an Advisory Group consisting of African experts and expert organisations on the topics of sport for development and gender equality who provide advice to the strategic direction of the project and support with the outreach to the wider S4D and gender equality communities in Africa.

In total, the Equal Play Effect Africa network currently consists of 106 so-called agents of change including staff members and women coaches from 45 sport for development organisations as well as Advisory Group members.

How It Works

Equal Play Effect is a replicable, adaptable and scalable solution to accelerate progress towards gender equality in football.

Equal Play Effect provides an action-based impact framework to support everyone in football to work against mechanisms and dynamics that enforce inequality and discrimination across four levels:

• In the Organisations: Embed gender equality at the heart of sport for development organisations and ensure gender equality in their leadership. 
• On the Sidelines: Increase the proportion of women coaches and ensure every girl has a woman role model.  
• On the Pitch: Provide equal access to opportunities for girls and boys. 
• In the Community: Leverage the culture and reach to inspire society and transform sports culture into a welcoming and inclusive space for all, transforming gender roles and promoting a positive image of masculinity.

Driven by Common Goal, developed by expert partners Soccer Without Borders and Women Win, Equal Play Effect has been implemented with the support of more than 50 stakeholders across five regions, including athletes, brands, community organisations and others. Since 2020, Equal Play Effect has been implemented in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the MENA region under different names.

Learn More

Learn more about Equal Play Effect here.