This story is featured as part of SUCCEED Stories, through the SUCCEED Framework. SUCCEED (Supporting Communities Empowerment & Development through Sport for All) is a global framework dedicated to fostering community empowerment and development through capacity building in Sport for All. Led by TAFISA in collaboration with the IOC through its Olympism365 strategy, SUCCEED aims to provide a unified and synergistic approach towards building the capacity of Sport for All stakeholders.
Fathime Tibu grew up in a rural village in Kilifi, Kenya, in a conservative community where girls were expected to stay home. Sport was for boys. But Fathime had other ideas - and a talent that was impossible to ignore. After completing her household chores, she would quietly slip out to join the boys on the football pitch. Her skill was undeniable. Her determination, even more so.
When her mother passed away at eleven, the future looked uncertain. Then
Moving the Goalposts arrived - and everything changed. Through MTG, and later through the
Girls Positive and Safe Coaching Pathway, Fathime went from a barefoot girl on a dusty pitch to a Regional Trainer shaping the next generation of coaches across East Africa. In May 2026, she took that journey to the world stage, sharing her story as a panelist at the TAFISA World Congress in Prague.
Her story is proof of what happens when a girl is seen, supported, and trusted with the tools to lead.
