Chess in Slum Africa founder, targets World Largest Chess Academy in Nigeria

Posted : 05 October 2023

Tunde Onakoya, the convener of `Chess in Slum in Africa,' a grassroots sports programme designed for out-of-school and disadvantaged children, has unveiled the next agenda which is the build the World Largest Academy in Nigeria.

Onakoya who supervises the project Chess in Slum Africa made the revelation in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the 2023 National Chess Championships in Lekki Lagos.

ASN reports that Chess in Slum Africa is a programme designed for out of school and disadvantaged children, giving them the opportunity to compete globally by teaching them chess and training them to become masters at the game.

The initiative also offers mentorship programmes connecting the children with chess enthusiasts and role models in various fields to inspire them on formulating a defined career path and harnessing talents.

According to Onakoya, The Chess in Slums, Africa is reimagining education using chess as a tool and framework to aid cognition and empower the minds of children in impoverished communities.

``The initiative fosters the intellectual and social development of underprivileged children through chess education.

``Chess in Slum Africa is on a mission to teach and unlock the potential in every child by using the game of chess as a framework to promote education and raise champions from slum communities in Africa.

``The future of Chess in Slum Africa is interesting; something that we started about five years ago, but going forward, we will continue to scale across Africa.

``The dream of the project is to capture Africa, presently, we are in about 12 countries in Africa presently with a target to build the largest chess academy in the world in Nigeria."

Onakoya added: ``To build the largest chess academy in the world in Nigeria is our goal, a chess academy that will nurture the children to becoming the best players in the world.

``We want to give over a million children a chance with chess in Africa because we believe this can be an intellectual revolution to raise a new generation of thinkers which Nigeria and Africa needs now.

``I believe chess is that powerful tool and `Chess in Slum Africa' will be leading that revolution by which over a million children will use chess and art alike to raise that generation of thinkers.

``Some of the best players in the world emerged from our programme.

"If we want to change the world, for me, somebody must make the sacrifice and we need to be strategic about the partnerships. We want to build an industry around chess because there is a global market for chess,'' he said.

The `Chess in Slum Africa' convener also claimed that the programme sought to increase the visibility of chess in Nigeria and Africa.

``We want to let our people know that there is a community for chess in the global front. Achieving that will go a long way in helping us to get the right funding.

``The moment chess becomes relatable to lifestyles, corporate partners will be willing to sponsor chess so that it can be self sufficient and sustainable,'' Onakoya said.

Chess in Slum Africa founder, targets World Largest Chess Academy in Nigeria

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