Charlotte set as flagship city for dual-track sports and careers initiative
LOS ANGELES, United States of America, 2 March 2026-/African Media Agency(AMA)/-The SEED Project, together with implementation partners the Pan African Council, Champs for Change, and the Global Africa Business Accelerator (GABA) Center, has taken a major step toward launching the U.S.–Africa Youth Talent Combine and Sports Careers Summit following a high-level Stakeholder Roundtable held during NBA All-Star Week in Los Angeles.
Convened by SEED Project and supported by SEED founder Amadou Gallo Fall, the roundtable brought together HBCU leaders, African and Caribbean diaspora representatives, city officials, impact investors, sports executives, and youth development organizations. The group aligned around the shared goal of using sport as a platform for education, careers, and economic mobility on both sides of the Atlantic.
Dual-track model: on-court and across the ecosystem
The U.S.–Africa Youth Talent Combine and Sports Careers Summit builds on a historical combine model while adding a second, equally weighted track focused on careers:
- A high-performance basketball combine for athletes, featuring standardized testing, positional skill work, and 5-on-5 evaluations.
- A parallel Sports Careers Summit for non-athlete and multi-interest youth, offering personality-based career assessments, hands-on labs, shadowing experiences, and mentoring across media, analytics, operations, coaching, entrepreneurship, technology, esports, and sports diplomacy.
“This is about who gets to build the future of sport,” said Fabien Anthony, Chairman of the Pan African Council. “We are designing a platform where young people can move from fan to professional on the floor, in the boardroom, and across the global economy.”
Charlotte as flagship launch
Roundtable participants endorsed Charlotte, North Carolina as the flagship host city for the first event, subject to final alignment with the Charlotte Hornets and facility partners. The concept calls for:
- A three-day program at the Hornets’ arena, combining on-court evaluation and off-court career exploration.
- HBCU- and city-led learning experiences, using Charlotte’s history with HBCU tournaments and NBA All-Star as a live case study in major event delivery, cultural impact, and local economic benefits.
“Charlotte offers a powerful classroom,” said Kimberly Nelson, CEO of the GABA Center. “Young people will see how a single event mobilizes hundreds of roles from game operations and storytelling to hospitality, technology, finance, healthcare and city planning.”
Centering youth careers in sport
Champs for Change (C4C) will lead design and delivery of the Sports Careers Summit, ensuring non-athlete youth are full co-beneficiaries of the program rather than an add-on.
“Every young person who walks into this experience should leave with a clearer pathway whether that’s in front of the camera, behind the camera, at the scorer’s table, in the startup lab, or leading in their community,” said Memuna Williams, co-founder of Champs for Change. “We’re building a generation of African and diaspora leaders who see sport as an industry.”
Next steps
SEED Project and its partners agreed to a 90-day roadmap that includes finalizing dates and space requirements with the Charlotte Hornets, refining the combine and Summit curriculum, mapping industry roles to HBCU and African university programs, and structuring a shared sponsorship and scholarship fund. A post-meeting report, recording these commitments was circulated among project stakeholders on February 24.
“This initiative is a movement to build prosperity across the continent, elevate youth through mentorship and professionalism, and integrate African talent into global value chains,” the partners said in a joint statement.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Champs for Change
About the project partners
SEED Project (Sports for Education and Economic Development) is an International NGO that uses education and basketball to develop the next generation of socially conscious African leaders that have the tools to lead their country. Learn more at seedproject.org.
Pan-African Council (PAC) is the premier global leadership and strategic development organization dedicated to elevating Africa and her Diaspora on the world stage. Guided by its multi-faceted approach, the Council bridges political divides through diplomatic engagement; unlocks shared prosperity by fostering economic opportunities; and empowers communities with targeted social initiatives. Learn more at panafricancouncil.org.
Champs for Change (C4C) is a pan‑African social enterprise that supports young people who want to build careers in sport, both on and off the field. Through resources, mentoring, training, connection to networks and collaboration, C4C helps the people behind the game turn passion for sport into real education, work, and entrepreneurship opportunities. Learn more at champs4change.org and share your interest in working with C4C here.
The GABA Center (Global Africa Business Accelerator) is the diplomatic and commercial bridge connecting the United States, Africa, and the global diaspora. Through its four strategic pillars, Capacity Building, Workforce Development, Venture Building, and Ecosystem Building, GABA delivers integrated programming that strengthens local economies and opens global pathways for entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions. Learn more at gabacenter.com.
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