On the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child, hundreds of young girls will gather at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, to compete, to be seen, heard, and backed. This is as the Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF) is set to host the 5th Female Taekwondo Championship on Saturday, 10 October 2026, as part of activities marking the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child.
The event, which has grown into a significant grassroots platform for girls’ empowerment through sport, will see senior girls compete in Kyorugi and Poomsae, while junior girls will compete in Kyorugi. Winners will receive medals, certificates, and cash gifts.
“Harder to Push Around”
For nearly three decades, YEF, a Nigerian non-profit founded in 1995, has worked with young people to help them find their footing and their voice. The championship grew out of a simple belief: a girl who knows her own strength is harder to silence, harder to push around, and far more likely to lead.
“Too often, we talk about girls as people who need to be rescued or fixed. Our girls are athletes, leaders, and changemakers already. What they need are spaces where that is taken seriously,” said Tony Eleme, spokesperson for YEF.
Sport, Safety, and Well-being
This year’s edition puts a spotlight on the link between sport, safety, and well-being. The championship is built around the realities girls face every day. Alongside the bouts, participants and their communities will engage in open conversations on gender-based violence (GBV), harmful gender norms, menstrual health and hygiene, personal safety, and girls’ rights. These are issues many girls are expected to deal with quietly, and YEF wants them spoken about plainly, without shame.
“Taekwondo makes these conversations possible,” the organisation noted. “It teaches discipline and self-defence, and it also teaches a girl to take up space, to stand her ground, and to get back up. Those lessons carry well beyond the stadium into classrooms, homes, workplaces and public life.”
The programme opens on Friday, 9 October, with an Online Safety and Gender-Based Violence Awareness Training at 10 am, followed by a weigh-in at 4 pm, both at the National Stadium. Competition begins at 8 am on Saturday.
This year’s edition emphasises that investing in girls cannot stop at school fees and textbooks. Girls also need safe spaces to build confidence, discover what they are capable of, and practice leadership while they are still young.
YEF
Since the initiative began in 2022, more than 1,000 young female martial artists from across Nigeria have taken part in the championship and related activities. It has also drawn in young athletes, coaches, government institutions, civil society organisations, development partners, and the private sector, all working toward the same goal of more opportunities for girls to thrive.
The most recent edition, held in Benin City, Edo State, welcomed girls from many different backgrounds and was recognised as an important grassroots platform for girls’ empowerment through sport. The championship has previously been held at the Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan (2022), Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos (2023), and the Manbilla Military Barracks in Abuja (2024).
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The 2026 championship is hosted by YEF in partnership with the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), the Lagos State Taekwondo Association, the Development Communications (DevComs) Network, Fitness Konnections, and The KB KLUB, College of Medicine, University of Lagos. Over the years, the championship has grown through the support of the State Taekwondo Associations, State Ministries of Sports, certified Taekwondo coaches, martial arts academies, corporate organisations, and other development partners.
YEF Calls on Government, Development Partners
YEF is calling on government institutions, development partners, corporate organisations, media houses, sports bodies, parents, and coaches to put their weight behind girls’ sports and youth development.
“A girl who has been supported to believe in herself grows into a woman who contributes to her community and her country, and grassroots sport is one of the most practical ways to get there,” the organisation stated.
This year’s edition emphasises that investing in girls cannot stop at school fees and textbooks. Girls also need safe spaces to build confidence, discover what they are capable of, and practice leadership while they are still young.
On Saturday, the 5th Female Taekwondo Championship will celebrate the strength, potential, and leadership of Nigerian girls. As the event organisers put it: “Come and watch them lead.”
