By Harry Awurumibe Editor, Abuja Bureau
For diehard supporters of Nigeria’s senior women’s football team, Super Falcons, it will be very difficult contemplating a scenario Nigeria will not win the next Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) slated for Morocco in 2024.
It is four years now since Nigeria won her last WAFCON trophy, this being in 2018 when Ghana hosted the biennial continental football fiesta organised by Confederation of African Football (CAF) just as the competition did not hold in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic which brought the world to its knees.
However, the country lost the coveted trophy two years ago in Morocco when the tournament rrebounded, no thanks to the host country Morocco which dashed Nigeria’s title hopes in dramatic semifinal clash that ended 5-4 penalties in their favour. They however lost to South Africa in the epic final.
Super Falcons under the tutelage of its former head coach Randy Waldrum went on to lose to Zambia in the third-place play-off to make it one of the worst outings of Nigeria in the competition the country had won 11 times since 1991 pre-FIFA Women’s World Cup final Nigeria qualified ahead of others to represent Africa and nine times since it became a biennial event in 1998.
In fact, Nigeria has won the most WAFCON titles in history since its official inception in 1991 and it has to be said that there have only been three winners of the WAFCON since the inaugural competition named Africa Women’s Championship (AWC) which can be argued to have been conceptualised by a Nigerian diehard women’s football aficionado in conjunction with the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) now Federation in 1998 and later pushed by the government of Nigeria during late Head of State, General Sani Abacha military regime which also agreed to bankroll the maiden edition of the tournament and donated a Gold Cup in the name of then First Lady Maryam Abacha which Nigeria won for keeps in 2002 edition.
Nigeria has maintained her stranglehold on the trophy by winning it back to back on two occasions and counting, although Equatorial Guinea halted Nigeria’s “double hattrick” in 2008 when the Central African country hosted WAFCON and won. Super Falcons finished third for the first time-ever.
Nigeria returned to the winning ways in the next edition in 2010 in South Africa where reclaimed the trophy only to lose it again to Equatorial Guinea in 2012 and finished in the 4th place, the worst for the team used to podium finish.
However, Nigeria stormed back with force and fury by claiming three straight WAFCON titles in 2014 in Namibia with ex-Super Falcons captain Desire Ugochi Oparanozie crowned Goal Queen after firing five goals with compatriot Asisat Lamina Oshoala decorated as Bedt Player of Tournament.
Two years later in WAFCON Cameroon 2016 Nigeria piped the host country Cameroon 1-0 in the final courtesy of Desire Oparanozie goal to retain the trophy and won it back to back in WAFCON Ghana 2018 after defeating South Africa 4-3 in penalty shootout as the defending champions, retained their dominance in this competition, winning the trophy for a ninth time in 11 editions.
Indeed, Nigeria has never gone two editions of WAFCON in its 25 years history without lifting the trophy hence WAFCON Morocco 2024 has presented another opportunity for the current Set of Super Falcons players to ensure that they go to Morocco to reclaim the trophy the team lost in 2022.
Interestingly, a large number of Super Falcons players especially those who joined the team after WAFCON 2018 and 2019 WAFU-B title-winning squad managed be erstwhile head coach Thomas Dennerby have not won a trophy of any colour with the former African champions since the arrival of Waldrum.
Dennerby who drafted young players from the U-17 and U-20 like goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, attacking midfielder Rasheedat Ajibade, defender Glory Ogbonna and forward Uchenna Kanu among others into the senior team led Super Falcons to win WAFCON trophy and WAFU-B Cup in Ghana and Cotè d Ivoire in 2018 and 2019 respectively with striker Kanu emerging top scorer on 10 goals.
But his successor, Waldrum failed to retain the trophy in Morocco even with the injection of unprecedented number of players with Nigerian roots in the United States of America and England into the team including 34 year-old goalkeeper Yewande Balogun and defenders Ashleigh Plumptre, Mitchelle Alozie, Toni Payne and sister Nicole Payne.
Others are Esther Ijeoma Okoronkwo, Ifeoma Chukwufumnaya Onumonu, Jennifer Onyinye Echegini, Patricia George, Onyinyechi Zogg, Adekite Fatuga-Dada and recently Omorinsola Ajike Babajide.
Sadly, none of these diaspora players and some who started their career from Nigeria are yet to lay their hands on WAFCON trophy, a situation which has made it imperative for the next head coach of Super Falcons to work hard to win the Cup in Morocco as anything less than the coveted trophy will be seen as another failure by Nigeria.
Luckily, Super Falcons still have enough weapons in its armory to reclaim the lost glory in Morocco as older players like reigning African Player Of The Year (Women) Asisat Oshoala and WAFCON veterans- Osinachi Ohale, and Halimatu Ayinde can galvanise experienced goalkeepers- Chiamaka Nnadozie and Tochukwu Oluehi and players like Rasheedat Ajibade Glory Ogbonna to guide the youngsters to win 2024 WAFCON trophy.
For the Super Falcons players who are yet to drink from the African Cup, the 2024 edition is the best chance to emulate the stars of yesterday who are now Nigeria and African legends including 4-time African Best Footballer of the Year-Perpetua Nkwocha; 2-time Winner- Cynthia Uwak; 2001 Winner-Mercy Akide and veteran goalkeepers Ann Agumanu-Chiejine and Precious Dede as well as ex-Super Falcons captain Onome Ebi.
But the country’s football governing body (NFF) has a big part to play if Super Falcons are to reclaim the trophy in Morocco as it has to make a decision on who leads the team in the New Year because further delay in the appointment of the substantive head coach can only make Super Falcons to be like “a sheep without shepherd”.
This is even as the three-match winning efforts of the Caretaker Coach Justin Madugu and his assistants Ann Agumanu-Chiejine and Auwal Makwalla have not swayed the NFF hierarchy to entrust the team in the hands of the experienced gaffer who has all the qualifications and certificates required to handle a top side like Super Falcons. READ ALSO:
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Madugu and his assistants qualified Nigeria for the WAFCON 2024 final in Morocco by beating Cape Verde home and away in the last double-header just as they had earlier beaten Ethiopia 3-0 in Abuja after drawing 1-1 away in Addis Ababa to qualify for the next round of 2024 Paris Olympics women’s football African qualifiers.
It will therefore be a big surprise if the federation goes ahead to negotiate a new contract with Waldrum who refused to lead Nigeria in the recent Olympics and WAFCON qualifier matches in October to December even when he was still under contract with the NFF. He preferred to stay away from fulfilling his obligations but led his Pittsburgh University women’s soccer club Panthers in the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship play-off which coincided with Nigeria’s international qualifiers.
It now remains to be seen if Super Falcons Can Drink From 2024 WAFCON Trophy no matter who leads the team to Morocco because anything short of winning the competition will not be acceptable by Nigerians.
