Sometime in 2022, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided that any club intending to participate in its inter-club competitions must have a minimum of one women’s first team participating in a competition sanctioned by the Member Association. The move was no doubt aimed at encouraging the growth of women football as encapsulated in the FIFA Forward Programme.
The decision by CAF didn’t come to many as a surprise because the incumbent president of the continental football governing body, Patrice Motsepe, had declared during his campaign and immediately after his victory that there was the urgent need to change the complexion of women football in Africa.
The South African billionaire was quoted as saying “we want women’s football, in the period of my presidency, to be significantly growing, progressing and prospering. Someone was saying to me, we could actually have an African nation winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup before we have a male team doing so.”
Well, for inexplicable reasons, the widely commended eligibility condition wasn’t implemented as even clubs without female teams were allowed to feature in the Champions League and Confederation Cup in 2023. Even if I don’t know much about other clubs on the continent of Africa, I know that Nigerian clubs, Rivers United, Plateau United, Remo Stars and Kwara United do not own female clubs yet they represented the country in the two continental competitions. That showed clearly that the decision didn’t see the light of the day.
In case you are wondering why I have brought up this topic today, the reason is the renewal of that condition for clubs’ participation in CAF competitions. The continental body has reiterated that to be allowed to feature in either the Champions League or Confederation Cup, clubs must have female football clubs. So, having known the situation in the three clubs that have already picked tickets to represent Nigeria in the continent next season, I am closely following their activities.
It is now an open secret that even as they do not have their own female teams, Enyimba, Rivers United and Remo Stars have already solved what many thought would be a hindrance to their ambitions. I learnt reliably that the three clubs have already negotiated and adopted female football clubs in their domains to be eligible to play in the continent in 2024.
According to the fire-brigade arrangement, it is said Enyimba FC will present Abia Angels which is owned and sponsored by the Abia State government. It is also said Remo Stars, one of the two privately owned clubs in the NPFL at the moment have completed 100% take-over of Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Second Division side, LakeSide Women. On their part, Rivers United are banking on Rivers Angels, another government sponsored club to realise their continental aspiration. It must be noted that before now, none of these clubs had anything to do with the aforementioned female sides.
Meanwhile, the winner of the Federation Cup finals to be contested on Wednesday, June 21, between Enugu Rangers and Bendel Insurance will take the final continental ticket. Whoever wins the trophy will represent Nigeria in the Confederation Cup along with Rivers United. Unfortunately, neither of the two finalists has a female football club.
However, Edo Queens are there for the taking by Bendel Insurance but the same can’t be said of Rangers because there is no known female club in Enugu State that can be quickly adopted by the ‘Flying Antelopes’. This is not to say there will be no way out for Rangers. If worse comes to worst, they will make a short trip to Abakiliki to hire Ebonyi Angels.
Although the condition is not too hard to meet, it has once again brought to the fore the urgent need for Nigerian clubs to pay more attention to female football in the country. In other climes or in the developed football leagues of the world, it is mandatory for every club to own a female team. There is no form of discrimination against the women’s teams. They enjoy the same attention that is given to their male counterparts. As a matter of fact, in the English Premier League season that just ended, Chelsea ladies were the saving grace of Chelsea men who had a near disastrous season. The teeming fans of the Blues no doubt found succour in their ladies.
In fact, most of Nigeria’s Super Falcons are plying their trade in the women’s sides of some of the prominent football clubs in Europe. For instance, our star girl, the reigning African Women Footballer of the Year, Asisat Lamina Oshoala (MON), is an influential player in Barcelona Femeni while her teammate, Rasheedat Ajibade, is with rival club, Atletico Madrid Femenino. There are so many of our girls who are playing abroad because the clubs have well developed women teams.
Unfortunately, the story in Nigeria and most African countries is different. I don’t think there is any club in the NPFL that has a female football team. We are too educated and enlightened to be hoodwinked that the state owned female clubs belong to some of the NPFL clubs. Apart from being sponsored by the same government, Enyimba have no business with Abia Angels. The same goes for Rivers United and Rivers Angels.
However, to quickly meet with one of the conditions for continental football next season, the NPFL clubs are now ‘owners’ of these female clubs. This is funny but it is going to work because I doubt if CAF is insisting that the clubs must prove that they are the real owners of the female teams. This overnight ownership of female teams by the NPFL clubs is no doubt ridiculous.
In view of the above, my candid advice to the clubs is that they should see what has compelled them to hire female clubs as a wake-up call. Each NPFL club should immediately work towards having a standing and formidable female team. And if there is a league for the NPFL female clubs, that will be the icing on the cake. Such a league, if established, will contribute massively to the development of women football in Nigeria.
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