By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
As Nigeria’s Super Falcons get set to take on their opponents from Tunisia in the first group B match of the 13th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tagged ‘Morocco 2024’ at Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Sunday, July 6, 2025, it will be a redemption WAFCON challenge for the former champions of Africa.
For many Nigerians, especially ardent football followers and women’s football lovers in particular, ‘Morocco 2024’ presents another opportunity for Nigeria to reclaim the WAFCON trophy which the Super Falcons lost in the last edition also held in Morocco in 2022.
The last time out, the most successful women’s national team in Africa was dethroned in a manner many Nigerians were angry with the Super Falcons squad led by former head coach Randy Waldrum, whose team lost 2-1 in the group match opener to the eventual tournament’s winners South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.
Also, Nigeria was defeated by the host Morocco, after losing 5-4 on penalties in a game that ended 1-1 at the regulation time in the semi-final stage and lost 1-0 to Zambia in the third-place match to sum up a very bad outing in Morocco as Nigeria returned to Abuja empty-handed.
Against this backdrop, the nine-time African champions are “baying for blood” in figurative terms and can not wait for too long to reclaim the WAFCON title they let slip out of their hands under the watch of their United States-born ex-coach, Waldrum two and half years ago in a ridiculous circumstance despite all the top notch pre-tournament preparations the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) gave to Super Falcons including high-profile international friendly matches Nigeria played against world’s best teams like Team USA, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Colombia, etc before the competition in Morocco.
Worse still, the last WAFCON in 2022 was Nigeria’s first-ever to lose three matches in the competition, and the second time of not making a podium finish in the history of the tournament, results not many Nigerians and, indeed, the present Super Falcons squad will want to remember again or allow to happen.
However, having come short of the expectations of many Nigerians in the last edition, it is a matter of prestige at stake for Super Falcons and this year’s WAFCON has presented a big opportunity for the most successful team in the continent to rise from the ashes of defeat to the peak of glory once again.
It is a redemption time for the Super Falcons to avoid a repeat of the last outing in Morocco.
Recall that Nigeria won her last WAFCON trophy in 2018 in Ghana after Super Falcons led by the first expatriate head coach Thomas Lenhart Dennerby
defeated South Africa 4-3 on penalties after the regulation time ended 0-0 in the epic final played at Ohene Gyan Sports Stadium in Accra Stadium.
History records that Nigeria has not gone trophyless for two editions of WAFCON as the Super Falcons have always bounced back from the ashes of defeat in a previous tournament to reclaiming the lost title next time of asking, and will like to maintain the tradition in the 13th edition in Morocco this July.
A closer look at the competition’s history showed that for the past 27 years, Nigeria has bestrode African women’s football turf like a colossus and has won the coveted trophy a record nine times, excluding two occasions the country by the virtue of being the African champions in 1991 and 2995 represented the continent in the 1st FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in China and the 2nd edition in Sweden respectively.
Accumulatively, Nigeria has emerged African champions for a record of 11 times if the 1991 and 1995 results are added together as Nigeria emerged a sole African representatives in the first two editions of FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in 1991 (China) and 2995 2
(Sweden) respectively.
In fact, Super Falcons are condemned to go all the way to the final of the 13th WAFCON in Morocco and win it to maintain the tradition of reclaiming the title after losing it in the previous edition.
This is the task that must be done by Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu, his assistants Ann Agumanu-Chiejine, goalkeeper trainer Awwal Makwalla and the two expatriate technical staff Igor Krulj, Video Analyst of repute and Fitness/ Conditioning coach Per Karlsson.
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Already, the team seems to be in a perfect state now than was in the last edition of WAFCON as there has been considerable stability as Madugu has instilled discipline in the players while he has not been all over the media space attacking his employer like his predecessor did throughout his rancourous reign as Super Falcons’ gaffer.
Perhaps this is a good sign of the good things to come as Nigeria begins her quest for yet another WAFCON trophy with a tricky opening match against Tunisia on Sunday at Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, venue where they will also take on Algeria and Botswana at later dates.
It do the Super Falcons a world of good to adopt the spirit of the all-conquering Set of 1998 WAFCON that walloped Morocco, a North African nation 6-0 in the Group A opening match at Ranchers Bees stadium, Kaduna to instil fears in other opponents and went ahead to lift the coveted trophy after trashing Ghana 2-0 in the finals on October 31, 1998. That should be the spirit.
Let’s Go Girls!
