By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
It is no longer news that two Nigerian age-grade women’s football teams, Flamingos and Falconets flattered to deceive as they were bundled out early in the recent FIFA U-17 and FIFAU-20 Women’s World Cup competitions held in Dominican Republic and Colombia which Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea teams won the coveted trophies respectively.
First, it was Nigeria’s intermediate women’s football team, Falconets that crashed out of the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in the Round of 16 after losing 2-1 to Japan in Bogota, Colombia on September 13, 2024 despite the high expectations that the team led by veteran coach Christopher Danjuma Musa will do better this time around.
Loaded with top players like Rofiat Imuran, Aminat Bello, Flourish Sabastine, Opeyemi Ajakaye, Chioma Olise, Comfort Folorunsho, Jumoke Alani, Janet Akekoromowei and goalkeeper Faith Omilana among others, Nigerians were expecting the Falconets to reach podium finish in Colombia which was the third time Danjuma will lead Falconets out after the misadventures in 2018 in France and 2022 in Costa Rica respectively.
But it was not to be as Nadeshiko of Japan defeated Nigeria’s Falconets 2-1 in the Round of 16, a far cry from the expectations of Nigerians who wanted the team to reach the finals in Colombia like the country did in Germany in 2010 and Canada 2014.
Similarly, three weeks after the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, Nigeria’s junior women’s football team, Flamingos also ended their impressive run in the 2024 edition in Dominican Republic on a sad note after losing 2-0 to United States of America team in the quarter-final stage at Santiago de los Caballeros stadium in Dominican Republic despite Nigeria’s 100% victories in the group stage.
Although, Olushola Shobowale managed to pull one back for Nigeria in stoppage time but they couldn’t find a second as Japan hung on to close out the 2-1 win and set up that epic quarter-final clash with Spain. It is a re-match of the final match of the last edition in Costa Rica two years.
Like the Falconets, the Flamingos team to Dominican Republic was loaded to hilt with rising stars like midfielders: Taiwo Afolabi (Delta Queens); Faridat Abdulwahab (Nasarawa Amazons); Shakirat Moshood (Bayelsa Queens) and strikers Harmony Chidi (Imo Strikers); Aishat Animashaun (Naija Ratels); Peace Effiong (Rivers Angels) and Blessing Ifitezue (Delta Queens) as well as emerging safe-hands Christiana Uzoma (Edo Queens).
Sadly, the biggest undoing of the Nigerian team was the inability of the Flamingos coaching crew led by Bankole Olowookere to have a depth knowledge of the makeup of Team USA in terms technical and tactical qualities of the Americans and at the end Nigeria was eliminated by the Yanks in the quarter-final stage.
The failure of the Flamingos and Falconets in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals which the U-20 and U-17 women’s football teams of North Korea won within a space of three weeks came on the heels of Super Falcons’ dismal performance in 2024 Paris Olympics where the team led by former head coach Randy Waldrum lost all three group matches to the disgust of many Nigerians.
Indeed, these spate of failures by all the three women’s national teams of Nigeria in 10 months while North Korean teams won two trophies in both categories have called for a critical review of the management and administration of women’s football in Nigeria with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) required to borrow the women’s football development template from the DPR Korea Football Association.
This has become imperative because North Korea women’s teams have won both FIFA U-17 and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup six times amongst the two even as Nigeria that started participating before the Asian country has not lifted the trophy once.
Won the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup three times, in 2006, 2016 and 2024.
WHAT NIGERIA CAN LEARN FROM NORTH KOREA’S DOMINANCE
A closer look at Nigeria’s performance in both U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cup finals since both competitions started in 2002 in Canada and 2008 in New Zealand, showed that North Korea has been head and shoulders above Nigeria, although the West African country has been participating in the competitions before the Koreans made their debut.
Interestingly, Nigeria has qualified in every edition of FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup which started as FIFA U-19 Women’s Championship in Canada in 2002 but has nothing to show for it except Runners-up finish twice, finished 4th place once and crashed out in the Round of 16 a month ago in Colombia.
However, North Korea’s U-20 women’s side did not qualify in 2002 in Canada and two years later in Thailand but made her debut in 2006 in Russia and went ahead to win the trophy. She finished Runners-up in Chile in 2008; quarter-finals in 2010 and 2012 and 4th place finish in 2014.
North Korea won her second trophy in 2016 in Papua New Guinea; finished as quarter-finalist in 2018; withdrew from the 2022 edition in Costa Rica but bounced back this year to lift her third trophy.
Also, DPR Korea qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 8 times, won the trophy 3 times, finished in second place once and quarter-final 3 times.
In contrast, Nigeria has qualified in 11 editions and reaching Runners-up in 2010 in Germany, 4th place in 2012 in Japan and Runners-up in 2014 in Canada. The Falconets also finished quarter-finalists 5 times, Group Stage 2 times and R16 once in 2024.
In the same vain, the North Korea women’s national U-17 women’s
football team is the current champions of the just concluded FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Dominican Republic. She have also won the trophy a record third time at the 2024 edition in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, November 3.
The North Koreans made their debut in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand in 2008 with Nigeria’s Flamingos but won the trophy while Nigeria crashed out in the group stage and they have gone ahead to win the trophy two times in 2016 and 2024 respectively.
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The country has also made it to 4th place in 2010; Runners-up in 2012; Group stage in 2014; Quarter-final in 2018 and withdrew from the 2022 edition alongside their U-20 women’s team on the order of the DPRK government to enable the government to prioritize sports in the country.
But the Koreans returned after two years of self-exile to win both the FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cup within a space of three weeks of each other in Colombia and Dominican Republic while the Nigerian teams to both competitions returned home empty-handed.
Curiously, Nigeria has qualified seven times out of eight editions but only managed to finish 3rd once in 2022 in India. She reached quarter-final 4 times and Group stage twice to sum up a terrible returns compared to North Korea’s incredible performance in the competition.
It has, therefore, become very necessary for the Nigeria government through the National Sports Committee (NSC) under the able leadership of Mallam Shehu Dikko and NFF to seriously consider the adoption of the ‘North Korean Formula’, to withdraw the women’s national teams from the age group competitions if the Nigeria will not make any impact in such global tournaments.
CAN NORTH KOREA’S FORMULA WORK IN NIGERIA
Inspite winning the FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cup trophy twice earlier by the two teams,
DPRK authorities in 2020 during the Corona-Virus (Covid-19) Pandemic withdrew both the U-17 and U-20 women’s football teams from 2022 edition but returned in 2024 to make a clean sweep of the two age-grade competitions.
DPRK thus joins United States of America (USA) and Germany as only three countries to win this tournament three times each following undefeated run in Colombia on September 23, 2024.
North Korea’s third U-20 World Cup win comes six years after it last participated in the biennial tournament, as the country shut itself off from the world for almost four years due to the pandemic.
The prolonged isolation seemingly did little to hamper the development of its young athletes, whose performances in Colombia showed why North Korea has consistently been a women’s soccer powerhouse at the youth level despite fluctuating fortunes on the senior stage.
Ms. Hu Hong of the University of North Korean Studies said after last week’s semifinal that North Korea’s strong performances in youth tournaments despite the four-year gap reflects the government’s focus on handpicking promising athletes from all over the country and placing them in dedicated academies.
She told NK News that the North Korean government tests all children’s sporting ability, trains them in disciplines in which they are most likely to succeed, and prioritizes selflessness, unity and loyalty over individualism.
However, at the senior level, North Korean athletes’ lack of exposure to strong international opponents hampers their chances of further success, Hong added.
“By the time athletes get to that level … they need an understanding of the most cutting edge techniques and strategy, as well as regular experience playing against the highest level of competition,” she said.
Regrettably, even in the elite FIFA Women’s World Cup, Nigeria has not done well, although the African power-house of women football has qualified for every edition (9 times) like USA, Brazil and four others but has only reached quarter final once in 1999 and Round of 16 twice in 2019 and 2023 in France and Australia/ New Zealand.
There is no better time to rebuild Nigeria’s three women’s football teams- Flamingos, Falconets and Super Falcons-for better performances at the global stage like the North Koreans than now because I do not see why Nigeria with a population of over 200 million people and several thousands of women footballers cannot lift the FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cup like the less endowed North Koreans.
This is unacceptable for a country that is a perennial participants in the FIFA competitions at all levels men and women. Participating alone in the competition is no longer the option but to win something is more prestigious.
Arise Nigeria Arise
