Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) – On a dusty field, coach Hida Ghaddar teaches more than football at her Breakthrough Soccer Academy in northern Nigeria’s largest city, Kano, which is currently gripped by a drug epidemic. “Playing football itself helps these players avoid all of this,” she says, adding that “drug abuse and playing football don’t go together.” Ghaddar combines sports drills with discipline, schooling and job support to help youths avoid drugs — all while nurturing their dreams of one day playing on the global stage.
