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The
year 2011 has started but the state of the National Women Football
League in still in confusion and uncertainty. Women’s football started
in Nigeria in the late 1970s, but it was not until the 1980s that it
really became a fixture of the local football scene. The pioneers
included Simbiat Babes and Jegede Babes and it was from these teams
that players were picked for the first women’s national football team
in 1990.

Whereas the
national women’s teams have been doing well in international
competitions, the local league that is supposed to serve as the
reservoir for the teams has been rendered comatose because of a lot of
negative happenings between the administrators, club owners and the
players.

Mere shadow

The League has
since become a shadow of its former self as the neglect from the
football body and various bickering has plunged the body into the
doldrums. Neglected by the mother body, the Nigerian Football
Federation (NFF) and differing voices on who is in the best position to
administer the League, has culminated in the women’s league sliding
into a comatose state.

The call for equal
representation In the past, there has been agitation for better
treatment of women in football but these calls it seems have gone
unheeded by the football federation. Henritta Ukaigbe, a prominent
female football commentator said: “In times past, there have been
agitations to make the female league more viable but it seems that
right now, the game is going to be further neglected or even
forgotten.” For the women’s game to get better there must be adequate
representation by the real stake-holders in decision making process in
administering the game. One way by which this could be achieved is by
having representation in the NFF. The elections held in August 2010
produced a board shorn of any woman. To make certain of this
representation, the NFF board has set aside a date for fresh elections
on January 28, 2011.

The news apparently
sounds good, but it is not satisfying to those who manage the women and
who own the clubs. The Women Football Club Owners is against one of the
guidelines set by the NFF. The said guideline stipulates that only
women could contest positions on the Women Football League Board. This
is not good news as it means that male club owners who are directly
involved with the women are not eligible to contest.

Unfair guidelines

According to Peter
Oguche, Chairman of Oguche Babes of Lokoja, such a guideline is
baseless. “No woman is funding a female football club today in Nigeria;
the club owners are all men therefore the NFF should not dictate to us
that the board must be for women only.” Another club manager, John Zaki
of Tin City Queens further buttressed the point being made by Oguche.
“For some time now, no women have been involved in the management of
football at the league level. Before there was Jegede Babes and
Omidiran Babes which were owned by women but now the clubs are no
longer functioning. If there are no women owners at the league level,
how are they to know what the problems actually are?” Speaking on the
same board representation, Ogochukwu Atube, a club less female player
said, “It does not matter if the people representing us are either men
or women. The important thing is that we have fair representation that
would benefit the players and develop the league.” A postponement to
eternity The club owners seem to be happy that the league has been
postponed and hope that all modalities will be put in place for the
commencement. According to Eddington Kuejebola, proprietor of Ufuoma
Babes, he said:

“It is to make sure
that they have all modalities in place so that there will be no
logistics problems. It can be recalled that about two years ago, it was
reported that the league secretary, Danlami Alalana, said that some
clubs would be face relegation if they did not appear for their
matches. And it is because of this statement that most of these clubs
withdrew from the league.” Though it seems this time that the NFF has
acceded to the request of the club owners but instead of putting a time
frame on the extension, the NFF has decided to postpone the start of
the league indefinitely. This further goes to confirm the apparent
pessimistic view with which the NFF views the female game in the
country.

Uncertainty reins

Macbeth Esezobor,
proprietor of the Macbeth Queens football club when spoken to last week
dismissed the starting of the league saying, “Do not be surprised if
the league which they announced would begin in January does not start.
Another person expressing this same lack of confidence is a football
player, Ogochukwu Atube, “We (the players) have been put in a state of
limbo.

We don’t even know
what is going on now. I think I would go and do something else, the
people at the helm of affairs just want to kill the game.” The need for
sponsorship For a League to be tagged a professional one, there is the
need to have sponsorship. However, in the past six years, the league
has suffered from a lack of sponsorship. “At the time we had the
sponsorship of Pepsi, female football was very exciting but now
everything is really boring”, says Atube. Tewogboye Oyewole, proprietor
of Tewo Queens decried the inattention that the women have faced at the
administrative level.

Ayo Omidiran,
proprietor the defunct Omidiran Babes of Oshogbo, also said that the
structure which holds the league needs to be strengthened. “A
professional league without sponsors is not really professional. It is
even worse than an amateur league. When the sponsorship problem is
resolved, then the other solutions to the various challenges will fall
into place.

“For some time now,
the club owners have been responsible for the funding of their
respective clubs and the NFF being the administrators of football in
Nigeria should know the amount of money that is required to keep a club
afloat.” So with all the pessimism and uncertainty relating to the
female league, it is actually correct to say that women football on the
local scene is gradually being squeezed to death.