Recently, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), in spite of its financial challenges, organised two international friendly matches for the Super Falcons against the senior national team of Algeria to help prepare the nine-time African champions for the 2025 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) in Morocco.
The Super Falcons squad dominated by players in the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) outclassed their opponents with victories in Ikenne and Lagos. At the Remo Stars Stadium, Super Falcons’ Captain, Rasheedat Ajibade of Atletico Madrid femenino, scored a brace for Nigeria to win 2-0, while a home-based player Folashade Ijamilusi, a striker with Edo Queens emerged the heroine in the second match in Ikenne with her first senior national team hat-trick. The back-to-back victories didn’t come as a surprise because the two teams are not in the same class.
Even though the friendly matches against Algeria can’t be said to be Grade A, at least it is an indication that the NFF is making efforts to keep the girls busy while rebuilding the most decorated women’s national football team in Africa. There is a need to rebuild because after the second round exit at the last World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, some experienced members of the Super Falcons have hung their boots. And a few more are on the verge of leaving the team.
It is also necessary to state that while some of the players like former captain Onome Ebi and Desire Oparanozie quietly left the stage to concentrate on other endeavours, others like Francisca Ordega are feeling that they have been hounded off by negative press and some powerful forces in the NFF. Moreover, after the next AWCON in Morocco, the most decorated Super Falcons player Asisat Oshoala, Osinachi Ohale, Christy Ucheibe, Ashleigh Plumptre and a few others might call time on their international career.
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It is against this background that the NFF wants to inject fresh legs into the Super Falcons. This also explains why the squad that prosecuted the two friendly matches was dominated by some of the best players in the domestic league. The acting Head Coach of the team, Justin Madugu, who is making his second spell with the team invited a total of 18 home-based players and seven foreign based players to make up the squad of 23 players.
Expectedly, players from the top NWFL clubs dominated the list with reigning champions Edo Queens contributing as many as seven players, Nasarawa Queens followed with five, Baylesa Queens had three players while FC Robo and Remo Stars Ladies completed the list with two and one player respectively.
At the end of the two matches, football commentators, especially female football supporters, commended the players for justifying the confidence reposed in them by the NFF. The coach also lauded the girls for proving that in the absence of the more experienced foreign based players, they can deliver the goods.
While I join the rest of the football fraternity to hail the NFF for organising the match which provided the opportunity for some of the home-based players to debut for the Super Falcons, it is necessary to say that either consciously or not, the NFF did the right thing in a wrong way. Looking at some of the NWFL players who featured in the matches, it is obvious that personal interests played an overriding role in the invitations. Some of the players didn’t deserve to be invited to the team.
Although it may be argued that the players didn’t perform poorly, it is because they played against opponents who are also poor or of average standard. When featured against more formidable opponents, their weaknesses would easily show. If the NFF wants to prove me wrong, these same players whose capabilities are in doubt should be used in the forthcoming international friendly with France. In fact, if these Super Falcons don’t ‘collect’ more than the eight goals they conceded in 2018 in a friendly match with France, I will cease to write this column.
The main objective of this article is to encourage the NFF to always do things diligently in order to achieve the set goals. Obviously, the NFF is trying to fill the existing vacancies in the Super Eagles, but doing so by inviting players who may be older than those they are coming to replace is ridiculous. Is the NFF trying to produce Mama Falcons instead of Super Falcons?
I am always careful when dealing with issues that concern the female gender because I don’t need anyone to remind me that feminists don’t condone anything that appears like chauvinist behaviour or comments.
However, I can’t resist the urge to observe that after the friendly matches with Algeria, one of the new Super Falcons players trended on social media, not because of her dazzling skills, but the heavy backside she is carrying. Most of the fans circulated her pictures simply because they admired her natural endowments. Personally, I think she can do better in wrestling or weightlifting.
Moreover, the only goal conceded by the Super Falcons was as a result of the inability of the heavily-built goalkeeper to get up quickly from the ground. She literally struggled to get to her feet after she went down to make a save. Of course, our star girl, Chiamaka Nnadozie is aging gradually and there is a need to get her replacement, but if we choose to go for a goalkeeper who appears older than her, then we are courting disaster.
So, the way forward is for the NFF to go with the current trend. The federation should be inspired by the outstanding performances of 17-year old Spanish sensation, Lamine Yamal, and Linda Caicedo of Colombia, to go for young talents instead of senior boys and girls who use football age to deceive us. Of course, experience can’t be bought on the shelves in a supermarket, but in any physical activity that requires strength and stamina, the youth are preferable.
Therefore, this is a passionate appeal to the NFF to jettison this idea of rebuilding the Super Falcons with mature ladies who are on the verge of retiring from football. I believe the Flamingos and Falconets are filled to the brim with talented youngsters who can play for the Super Falcons. They might not fit in immediately, but they will improve under the tutelage of their idols like Oshoala, Ajibade, Nnadozie, Ucheibe, and Michelle Alozie. The NFF should please allow some of these senior ladies to concentrate on their comical displays in the NWFL.
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