Nigeria Content Online

Female football
in Nigeria has a relatively short history, dating back to the late 90s,
but in that short period the female national teams have done a great
deal to enhance Nigeria’s image.

The recent
victory of the Super Falcons in South Africa, who defeated defending
champions Equatorial Guinea to win the African Women championship is
only the latest in a string of successes recorded by the team. In a
competition that has only been played seven times, the Falcons are
six-time winners, and they have qualified and participated in all World
Cups till date. They will be making their sixth consecutive appearance
in the Women Mundial in Germany next year.

Unfortunately,
these sterling records have not earned respect for the women who have
brought so much honour and prestige to the country. When the team
arrived in Lagos after their victorious outing in South Africa, they
were paraded aboard a ramshackle trailer that even cows would have
sniffed at. Despite this, the footballers were happy to have been
received at all; In 2008, no arrangement was made to received the team.
It was so bad that on arrival in Nigeria, the players each had to use
their own money to charter cabs from the airport.

The truth is that
our ladies have not been accorded the respect they deserve for their
achievements over the years. Will it be too much to ask that they be
remunerated accordingly? Yes, the men’s game still has more prestige,
more money, but that should not take anything away from what the
Falcons, Falconets and the Flamingoes have done to re brand Nigeria in
the eyes of the world.

While the Super
Eagles (and one wonders if they still deserve that appellation) collect
on the average $10,000 (N1.5million) as match allowances in
international tournaments, the female team gets a paltry $1,000 and
$500 for the junior teams. The disparity in these allowances is too
wide to permit rational discourse.

When the Eagles
won the 1980 Nations Cup for the first time, they was a deluge of gifts
for the players ranging from cars to houses and national honours. Yet
our women have now won the female version for a sixth time and the best
we could do for them was parade them in a trailer used to transport
cows to the abattoir. Such actions reveal a clear disregard, even
disenfranchisement of our women. This has to be remedied quickly as it
could easily kill the motivation and the morale of the players and also
that of youngsters that may want to follow in their footsteps.

It is true that
by the time the team reached Abuja, the Nigeria Football Federation
quickly moved to remedy the shoddy handling of the Falconet’s reception
by conveying them in a Marco Polo bus to the Presidency, but the
football house still needs to do more to encourage and motivate the
players.

First, there have
always been allegations – unproven as of now – that some male officials
of the team try to use their positions to harass female players
sexually. These have to be taken seriously and investigated. And if any
male official is found to be guilty, he should be prosecuted. This will
reassure aspiring female footballers, they will know that they will be
protected when and if they get to play for the national team.

Also, there had
been subtle threats that Eucharia Uche, the coach, will be replaced
before the World Cup in Germany next year. This is a woman who chieved
what a male coach could not do in 2008, beating the superb female team
of Equatorial Guinea. She also showed in all the matches that she was
not afraid to ring the changes as the case of Loveth Ayila plainly
showed. Ayila started the first match against Mali but she did not get
her act right. The coach made her sit out the rest of the tournament
with her replacement doing the business. That showed a coach who did
not allow sentiments to cloud her judgment and who was also thinking on
her feet, ready to make corrections on earlier devised tactical
formation when they are not succeeding.

The coach has now
been assured by the federation that her job is safe but they could do
more by assisting her in getting quality club attachments where she
will improve her skills.

The Federation
should also intensify efforts to get sponsors for the female local
league, where development has been hampered by a lack of direction and
finance. If this is done the reservoir of players will increase and we
will see an improvement in the quality of football played by the female
players.

In preparing for
Germany 2011, there is a need for incentives that are clearly spelt out
so the players know what they have to gain by performing well. The
match allowances need to be improved and more friendly matches should
be organised to keep them in match form. The women are important and
must be made to feel important.

They have won six
African crowns and have appeared in all World Cups, that should be more
than enough to get them the respect and plaudits they deserve.