Students of Junior High School Gwagwalada play soccer in their bare feet in Abuja.

U.S. Soccer stars Lauren Gregg and Marcelo Balboa returned to Nigeria from November 29 – December 4, 2008 to conduct soccer clinics for coaches and youth. The Sports Envoys, on their second trip on behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), taught soccer skills and spoke about the importance of hard work to more than 1,100 Nigerian girls and boys between the ages of 10 and 17. The Public Diplomacy program was conducted in conjunction with U.S. Soccer and the Nigerian state of Anambra.

The Envoys first traveled to Anambra, where they reached out to more than 1,000 children from rural communities. In just two days they took boys’ and girls’ teams through dribbling, heading, and passing drills and spoke to coaches and sports officials about developing a state-wide soccer program. In appreciation for their hard work, Gregg and Balboa were honored at a dinner by the governor of Anambra and the Obi of Onitsha, one of the most important traditional leaders in the country.

Next, the Sports Envoys flew to the capital, Abuja, where they interacted with kids and coaches from twelve different schools from the capital and beyond. Most of the young participants were meeting an American for the first time and were inspired by Balboa and Gregg’s message that they could succeed in life if they put their minds to it. 

This successful program was heavily covered in the press. According to the Embassy and Consulate hosts in Nigeria, approximately 20 million Nigerians heard from coach and youth participants of the soccer clinics through a variety of newspaper and radio outlets.