First Football Club Foundation in Nigeria Consolidates Gains to Boost Employability, Workplace Readiness and Behavioural Outcomes
Enugu, Nigeria — October 4, 2026.
Rangers International Football Club Foundation (RIFC Foundation), the first football club foundation in Nigeria, is proud to announce its advancement into the Tertiary Innovation Stage of its ongoing SEL+Sports Intervention Framework through the flagship “Beyond The Pitch Initiative” for students of Government Technical College (GTC) Enugu.
The advancement, which commenced this academic session, is designed to consolidate the gains, successes, and measurable impacts recorded during the Primary Innovation Stages with Year 1 and Year 2 students. The new phase focuses on enhancing employability skills, workplace readiness, and crucial behavioural outcomes as students transition toward career pathways.
Under the expanded framework:
<span;><span;>- Primary Innovation Stage – Year 1: Will continue for all newly admitted students, providing foundational SEL, life skills, teamwork, and mental well-being.
<span;><span;>- Tertiary Innovation Stage – Years 2 & 3: Former Year 1 students (now Year 2) will advance alongside current Year 3 students into the tertiary stage, focusing on leadership, career development, resilience, and community impact.
The Foundation also commends its strategic partner, the Science Technical Vocational School Management Board (STVSMB), Enugu, for its visionary leadership. The Board has ensured that all students pass through Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) classes and the sports intervention framework and has formally integrated the framework into the school calendar and timetable.
Speaking on the milestone, the Chairman of Rangers International Football Club Foundation, Coach Ebere Amaraizu, said:
<span;>> “This is more than football. Beyond The Pitch is about building the whole child. We started with Year 1 to lay the foundation for life skills and mental well-being, and the measurements have shown us real, measurable change. Now, moving into the tertiary innovation stage, we are consolidating those gains to ensure our young people at GTC Enugu are not just technically skilled, but emotionally intelligent, employable, and workplace-ready. I am particularly grateful to our partner, the Science Technical Vocational School Management Board Enugu, for institutionalizing SEL into the school system. I am particularly grateful to Rangers International FC management under Amobi Ezeaku Esq for helping to create the enabling platform for this life-changing engagement. I also commend the engagement and impact measurement team led by Dr. Johnbosco Chukwuorji, a clinical psychologist and US Government Exchange Alumni Member (Fulbright), for his commitment and for ensuring our impact is scientifically measured and globally credible. Together, we are proving that sport is a powerful tool for education, mental health, and youth development.”
The RIFC Foundation, through its Beyond The Pitch Initiative, continues to drive innovation at the intersection of Education, Sport, and Youth Development, using football as a vehicle for social-emotional learning and sustainable impact.
About RIFC Foundation:
Rangers International Football Club Foundation is the social impact arm of Rangers International FC of Enugu — and the first football club foundation in Nigeria — dedicated to youth development, education, mental well-being, and community transformation through sport.
