Using Golf to Drive Autism Awareness and Community Action
Golfers gathered at the Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate in Lagos for the seventh edition of the Play With Stephen Golf Tournament, using sport as a platform to promote greater autism awareness, understanding and support.
The landmark edition, themed “Swing for Autism,” brought together 69 golfers who shared more than an interest in the game. They came together to demonstrate how sport can create meaningful conversations, mobilise communities and contribute to causes that deserve greater public attention.
The tournament and its autism-awareness mission were featured by ATQ News.
A Landmark Seventh Edition in Lagos
Convened by Stephen Oluwatoyin Onaivi, the Lagos tournament built on six previous editions held in Ghana, where golfers from different countries participated in the initiative.
Bringing the seventh edition to Nigeria marked a significant step in the tournament’s growth and continental journey. It also introduced the Play With Stephen experience to a new community of golfers while maintaining the purpose that has guided the initiative from the beginning.
A total of 69 golfers participated in the Lagos edition, with attendance deliberately managed to remain within the capacity of the golf course and provide a quality tournament experience.
Beyond the competition, every participant became part of a wider effort to increase awareness and encourage more informed conversations about autism.
Golf as a Platform for Advocacy
Play With Stephen is built on the belief that golf can achieve more than recreation and competition. The sport brings people from different professional, social and cultural backgrounds together, creating a valuable network through which important causes can gain greater visibility.
Through the “Swing for Autism” theme, the tournament encourages golfers to use their voices, relationships and influence to promote greater understanding of autism.
Stephen Onaivi’s personal connection to autism has also influenced his decision to use the tournament as a platform for advocacy. His goal is to contribute to solutions for social challenges across African communities, beginning with an issue where increased understanding and support can make a meaningful difference.
The tournament is therefore not defined primarily by who wins. Its greater value lies in the conversations it inspires, the people it informs and the action it encourages.
Awareness Is the Beginning
Although raising awareness remains the initiative’s immediate priority, Play With Stephen has a broader ambition.
“The first thing for us is awareness. The next level is to see how we support centres,” Onaivi explained.
This direction reflects an understanding that awareness must eventually lead to practical action. By helping more people understand autism, the initiative hopes to create a stronger foundation for supporting autism centres, families and communities.
Greater awareness can reduce misunderstanding, encourage inclusion and help people recognise how they can contribute. When golfers, organisations and members of the wider community become more informed, they are better positioned to support initiatives that improve care and expand opportunities.
Building an Informed Golf Community
One of the tournament’s long-term goals is to create a golf community that understands autism and is prepared to take meaningful action.
Imagine the impact if golfers across Nigeria understood autism, recognised the challenges faced by autistic people and their families, and actively contributed to creating solutions. This is the future Play With Stephen hopes to support.
The tournament provides an entry point for this change by combining an established sport with a clear and relatable social purpose. Participants do not simply attend an event; they become part of an expanding advocacy network.
Growing the Movement
Play With Stephen intends to continue the tournament annually while attracting more golfers and expanding its reach across Nigeria and beyond.
Each edition offers another opportunity to introduce new people to the autism-awareness campaign, strengthen existing partnerships and transform sporting participation into wider community impact.
The Lagos edition demonstrated the potential of this approach. Sixty-nine golfers gathered to play, but their presence also amplified a larger message: autism awareness is a responsibility that communities can advance together.
More Than a Tournament
“Swing for Autism” demonstrates that sport can extend beyond entertainment to become a powerful tool for advocacy, inclusion and social change.
By bringing golfers together around a shared purpose, Play With Stephen continues to build a movement in which every game creates an opportunity for awareness and every participant can become an advocate.
The ambition remains clear: continue playing, continue creating awareness and transform that awareness into practical support for autistic people, their families and the centres that serve them.
At Play With Stephen, every swing carries a purpose—and every edition moves the mission forward.
