Beyond its practice, football is a tool for the education, development, empowerment and emancipation of young girls. FIFA (www.FIFA.com) has joined forces with AFD and PLAN INTERNATIONAL to set up Champions, a project that contributes to the transformation of social norms and gender stereotypes through the practice of sport, in particular football.

This project concerns three West African countries, namely Benin, Togo and Guinea, where FIFA, together with its partners and all stakeholders (from 23 to 30 may) conducted an awareness campaign on the benefits that the practice of football on girls through numerous activities in different villages, including awareness-raising activities, participatory land rehabilitation and provision of sports equipment to project sports associations, the organization of initiatives to promote women's leadership, the establishment of sports associations for girls and others.