Yemisi Akinbobola is a Nigerian media entrepreneur, academic, and co-winner of the CNN African Journalist Award 2016 in sports reporting.

She is the co-founder of African Women in the Media group, which was established to foster the needs of female African media content producers. She studied Creative Arts at the University of Maiduguri and had her Masters in Media Production from Birmingham City University, where she subsequently gained her PhD in Media and Cultural Studies. She later became a visiting lecturer and researcher at the same university. She completed an internship with CNN, and during this period she set up IQ4News. The news platform was recognized for an investigation into the trafficking of young, West African soccer players by fake agents. She formed Stringers Africa -- an organization that started from her difficulties recruiting African journalist for her freelance job. Akinbobola has freelanced for publications like United Nations Africa Renewal magazine.

Basic information

Name
Yemisi Akinbobola
Country
United Kingdom
Twitter

Supported projects

Who extracts the value of Nigerian football players?

  • Sport
  • Trafficking

CALABAR - According to a 2013 study conducted by Paris-based charity Foot Solidaire, about 15,000 young boys from West Africa are trafficked to Europe each year by fake football agents promising them trials with top football clubs in exchange for a lot of money from their families.