NIGERIA’s senior female soccer team, the Super Falcons are the Queens of Africa given their superlative, dominant and creative performance, their resilience, and agility at the just concluded Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Morocco, July 5 – 26. Since the inception of the tournament in 1998, the Super Falcons have won 10 times out of the 13 times that the event has held: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, and now 2024, missing the trophy only thrice in 2008, 2012 – won by Equatorial Guinea, and in 2022 – South Africa. Ahead of the 2024 WAFCON in Morocco, the manager of the team, Justin Madugu had declared that they were going on a Mission X, that is to win the trophy for a record 10th time. Their victory is the accomplishment of that dream, and a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s supremacy in female football. But the road to that moment was in no way easy. The Falcons beat Tunisia, 3- 0 in their opening match, and further defeated Botswana 0-1 to get to the competition’s knock-out stage.
The next match against Algeria was a goalless draw, but the Falcons had enough points to go through to the quarter finals, having led Group B. Their next opponent was the Copper Queens of Zambia, who had led Group A, and were supposed to be something of a threat. The Super Falcons trounced them 5 – 0. Then they got to the semi-finals to face defending Champions, and a rival team, the Banyana Banyana of South Africa. It was a nail-biting, nerve-wracking, tension-soaked match. The South Africans were determined. Nigeria scored through a spot kick in the 45th minute, converted by team captain Rasheedat Ajibade. In the 60th minute, the South Africans also levelled the score through a penalty kick making the match 1- 1. It looked as if the game was heading for extra time, until Michelle Alozie scored in the 94th minute turning a pass from Esther Okoronkwo into a dramatic win for the Falcons.
The final match on Saturday, July 26, was no less stunning. The Falcons were trailing 2-0 by the end of the first half, in front of a crowd of Moroccans solidly behind their home team. It was a different ball game, however, in the second half. The Falcons returned to the pitch fighting as if their lives were at stake. Esther Okoronkwo scored against the Moroccans in the 63rd minute, Folashade Ijamilusi followed up with another goal in the 71st minute, and in the 88th minute, Jennifer Echegini settled the matter with a Nigerian goal that was celebrated across the country. It was an amazing comeback, reminiscent of the Miracle of Damman in 1989, when, during the quarter-final match between Nigeria’s U-20 football team, the Flying Eagles came back from four goals down to beat the USSR team and went on to win the match subsequently on penalties, 3-5. Women’s football has grown in Africa, and Nigeria’s Super Falcons are the Queens. It is instructive that the individual and collective talent of the Super Falcons is now being rated against the capability of the Super Eagles. Failure is an orphan; success has many parents. This is in part the trite lesson of the Miracle of Rabat.
The Falcons returned home yesterday, touching down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at approximately 2:26 pm. to a well-appointed celebration in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in an open-bus parade across the city before presenting the trophy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his wife and other senior government officials at the Presidential Villa. The President had told the Super Falcons that he was waiting to receive the trophy, and he played his part by ensuring that bonuses and allowances for the Falcons were duly paid, but this team didn’t play for money. They played for glory and they brought honour home. They brought history home, too, creating a significant moment of celebration. They are Champions, the tenth time. They are also the first to win the newly redesigned WAFCON trophy. They won a title prize of one million dollars. The ladies were exceptional on the field of play: four of them made it to the WAFCON Best XI list. Rasheedat Ajibade was crowned Player of the Tournament, having won Player of the Match thrice. Esther Okoronkwo was Player of the Match in the final against Morocco, Chiamaka Nnadozie was recognised as Goalkeeper of the Tournament, having conceded only three goals. Michelle Alozie was also a standout star. The team manager, Justin Madugu, from. Adamawa State, was recognised as the Coach of the Tournament. He was just appointed an interim coach of the Super Falcons in September 2024, and now he has proven that he is a man of pedigree. Other members of the team were just as brilliant: Asisat Oshoala (who says she is not retiring by the way, and nobody should carry fake news), Rinsola Babajide, Chinwedu Ihezuo, Osinachi Ohale, Folashade Ijamilusi, and Chioma Okafor. Two members of the team – Ashleigh Plumptre and Chioma Okafor deserve special praise. Plumptre is a British-Nigerian; Chioma Okafor’s mother is from Malawi. At a time when the likes of Kemi Badenoch and Favour Ofili are rejecting Nigeria, these two ladies opted to stand up for Nigeria. President Tinubu showed the nation’s appreciation by bestowing the National Honour of OON on the Super Falcons and the entire technical team. He also gave a three-bedroom apartment in Abuja to each of the players and the technical crew, and the Naira equivalent of $100,000 (N153 million) to each of the 24 players and $50, 000 to the 11-man technical crew. Great. But can we possibly extend this honour to those who won the WAFCON nine times earlier and are no longer in the Super Falcons team? They deserve to be appreciated, too.
The South African team won the fair play award for their on-and off-field behaviour as well as respect for opponents and officials. They were composed. They were disciplined. They certainly deserve the recognition, but the spirit of sportsmanship that was generally demonstrated at the tournament should be remarked upon and underlined. During the Nigeria-South Africa semi-final, Gabriela Salgado, South African winger, was injured in the 87th minute and had to be stretchered off the field, and rushed to the Mohammed VI University Hospital, where she underwent surgery on her left leg. The entire Falcons team visited Salgado, the following day at the hospital and presented her with a signed Nigerian jersey and a statement expressing solidarity and wishing her speedy recovery. Salgado also received solidarity messages from Ghana’s Black Queens, CAF, other teams at the tournament, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This show of humanity is noteworthy. There are perhaps lessons that male footballers can learn from women footballers, both in Africa and worldwide, and the Libyan Football Federation in particular, which maltreated the Super Eagles in October 2024, has lessons to learn too. There may have been instances of on-pitch fights and intense altercations in women’s football, but they are relatively less frequent. Football should not turn into war by other means, which is why it is shocking that after the WAFCON, Morocco has now reportedly lodged a protest with CAF questioning the nationality of two Nigerian players: Ashleigh Plumptre and Michelle Alozie. Morocco wants Nigeria to lose the title. They don’t have a case. They were beaten fair and square. Plumptre’s grandfather is from Lagos, Nigeria; Alozie’s parents are Nigerians. Nigerians born and raised abroad have a right to Nigerian citizenship under Section 25 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
CAF deserves commendation for organising a successful 2024 WAFCON, with the quality of officiating, deployment of technology and Morocco for being good hosts (let them not ruin that though by lodging frivolous and vexatious complaints against Nigeria). The weekend that just passed was altogether a special moment for women’s football, with the WAFCON final played at Rabat on Saturday, followed by the Euro 2025 final between Spain and England in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday. While the Super Falcons were arriving Abuja yesterday, the Lionesses of England were also touching down in London to a similar heroes’ welcome. They had successfully defended their European title on Sunday, beating Spain on penalties, 3-1. They would have an open-bus parade on Tuesday after they were received by the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner at No. 10. There were anxieties and doubts about the capability of the Lionesses to defend their European title. Many wrote them off. Mary Earps and Fran Kirby had retired a few weeks before Euro 2025. Millie Bright also withdrew from the selection. When the Tournament began, England lost their opening game to France. But as if it was a fairy-tale unfolding, they went on to beat the Netherlands and then Wales. During the quarter-final against Sweden, the Lionesses were two goals down, but luck was on England’s side. They went on to win on penalties. During the semi-finals against Italy, they were also 1-0 down, until Michelle Agyeman scored an equaliser in the 96th minute, and Kelly Chloe put in the winner for England in the 119th minute. Spain led 1-0 in the final match on Sunday, but England still came back to win a penalty shoot-out 3-1. The English ladies were driven by determination, faith and belief. Hannah Hampton, who kept the goal, emerged from the shadows of Mary Earps and saved four penalties for England during the tournament, two during the quarter final against Sweden and the other two during the final match against Spain, winning Player of the Match in both instances.
Michelle Agyeman was the Best Young Player of the Tournament. Each time she was introduced as a sub, the flow of the game changed. Lucy Bronze played with a fractured leg. At 37, she was the oldest player at Euro 2025, and yet she played for a total of 598 minutes. The Lionesses have given England what has been described as “the greatest achievement in English football” – the first time England has won a major trophy on foreign soil. The Lionesses are the Queens of Europe. Sarina Wiegman, the manager, has won two finals back-to-back, reinventing the glorious days of Emma Carol Hayes, former manager of the Lionesses, who is now the head coach of the United States women’s national team. Wiegman has been a head coach in five successive European finals.
What is common to both the Falcons and the Lionesses was their sheer determination, focus, defiance and a sense of purpose. The ladies were self-motivated, they wanted to win, they fought for national pride, and they worked together as a team. The two head coaches also knew their onions. Each time Madugu or Wiegman substituted a player, the replacement proved to be just the tonic that the side needed, be it Deborah Abiodun in the 81st minute of Nigeria’s semi-final against South Africa, or Christy Ucheibe, Esther Okoronkwo and Chiwendu Ihezuo or Jennifer Echegini in the final against Morocco. England came from behind in three of the knock-out stage matches in Euro 2025 (against Sweden, Italy, Spain) but Wiegman used substitutes to telling effect, notably Chloe Kelly, Ella Toone and Michelle Agyeman. Football coaching has become more technical than ever, and the modern manager must be a tactician. Both teams displayed the Never-Say-Die spirit to overcome adversity. Men’s football may still be ahead of women’s football in terms of salary, compensation and eyeballs, but without doubt, the future of female football is assured. The aggregate attendance at Euro 2025 was over 600, 000, far more than the aggregate of 574, 875 in 2022. More people worldwide are showing interest in female football, and a future generation of girls will be inspired by current examples to take to the game.
Football glory is always a source of unity and faith for the average Nigerian. The men’s national team, the Super Eagles, should draw inspiration from the Super Falcons. The main challenge before them is how to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada. The next phase of the qualifying series would soon commence with Nigeria having four matches at hand: beginning with the Amavubi of Rwanda on September 6 at home, an away match in South Africa on September 9, and two last games against Lesotho and the Benin Republic in October. The country is currently fourth in the qualifying Group C with seven points, six points behind South Africa, who lead the group with 13 points. The Super Eagles have had a new head coach since March 2025, the French-Malian Eric Chelle, whose main charge is to take the team to the next World Cup. The last time Nigeria qualified for the World Cup was as far back as 2018 in Russia, a very long time ago. Nigerians have high expectations. The Super Eagles must not disappoint them.