Nextgoal

Nextgoal is a youth-led and community-based organisation founded in 2020 by a group of young women in Hargeisa with a shared passion for street football and social change. Motivated by the lack of inclusive recreational spaces and the social stigma attached to girls participating in public sports, these young women came together to build a safe, supportive, and visible platform where girls could play, grow, and lead. Since its establishment, Nextgoal has grown into a vibrant, grassroots movement operating across three low-income neighbourhoods in Hargeisa. The organisation has built a community of over 320 active members, the vast majority of whom are adolescent girls and young women aged 12–25. Through self-organised weekly football sessions, informal peer mentoring, and locally driven visibility efforts, Nextgoal challenges prevailing gender norms and advocates for girls' right to occupy public space, participate in sports, and shape their communities. Entirely youth-led and self-funded since its inception, Nextgoal has consistently demonstrated strong grassroots mobilisation capacity and deep local trust. Its members collectively pool resources to rent playgrounds, organise local matches and training, and design awareness-raising initiatives that promote gender equality and inclusion. The organisation is committed to creating a culture of leadership, peer support, and collective responsibility, rooted in the realities of Somaliland’s youth. Beyond sports, Nextgoal serves as a community-building platform that fosters civic engagement, sisterhood, and youth-led activism. Its leadership, composed entirely of young women, is committed to long-term structural change and aims to evolve from an informal network into a recognised civil society actor capable of influencing public discourse and advocating for inclusive urban development.