After #MissionXAccomplished, what next?

Football is a game of two halves. If anyone is given the option of choosing to lose one half of a football match, many will go for the first half, not to lose it scandalously though, because a heavy deficit from the first half may be impossible to cancel in the second. This buttresses what the Holy Book says, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” A good start is good, a better finish is better and a good start plus a better finish is the best.

During Saturday’s WAFCON 2024 final, I started to feel unwell after the hosts scored their second goal. I just could not fathom what was going on. I started to sweat uneasily because I had boasted to everyone that cared to listen that it was impossible for Nigeria to lose the game.

Indeed, with the quality and experience in the Super Falcons, I knew it was impossible for the hosts to beat Nigeria, but here we were with the Super Falcons staring defeat in the face. The Nigerian ladies were all over the place as the hosts, spurred on by their fans, played like possessed humans.

That first half performance was poor, timid, flat and better forgotten. Thankfully there would be a second half.

What an inspired second half it turned out to be for Nigeria. Coach Justin Madugu rang the changes and the game turned on its head. The ‘never say die’ spirit of Nigeria came alive. Confidence returned and the fluid passing, quick and surefootedness as well as the strong running. The Moroccans knew that something had changed about their opponents and they began to panic. Fear was transmitted from their bench, where the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup winner Jorge Vilda held sway, to the players on the pitch and it was only a matter of time before they cracked and carved in under intense attacking pressure.

At the end of the day, the first half advantage of the hosts was gone and they lost the final to Nigeria. It was a thrilling game, a fitting end to a wonderful tournament.

The best team, without any doubt, won the WAFCON 2024 and their Mission X campaign was accomplished. To confirm this, the Super Falcons had the highest number of players (four) in the tournament’s Official Eleven and also had the Coach of the Tournament.

At this point, it will not be out of place to pause…..and, once again, congratulate the queens of African football – The Super Falcons of Africa.

Expectedly, cash rewards and gifts have been pouring in for the ladies and their officials. The decision and determination to stay focused on their mission and keep off all ‘off the field’ distractions in Morocco has paid off. Can the rewards, cash awards, gifts and goodwill they have now received compare in any way to the distractions?

And there lies a crucial life lesson: Keep distractions away in your own best interest and always do all you can to get the job done. This is not to justify the distractions or those who create them, it is to salute the single-mindedness and doggedness of the team.

Riding on the words of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “A grateful nation appreciates those who make her proud.” And as Nigerians continue to celebrate the African queens, it is critical to highlight the following:

WAFCON 2024 is done and dusted. WAFCON 2026 is eight months away. The time to start to prepare for that tournament is NOW. In fact, the qualifying campaign for it will begin in just a few weeks. So let us not over celebrate this WAFCON 2024 triumph and fail to adequately plan and prepare for the next one.

The WAFCON 2026 is the qualifying tournament for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup scheduled for Brazil, so it would be tougher because the stakes are much higher. For Nigeria, preparations for a successful title defence should start immediately. The decision on the status of the Head Coach Justin Madugu needs to be clear. He should be given a contract, allowed to go for refresher courses to upgrade himself and also motivated to lead the team to even greater successes.

The technical department of the Nigeria Football Federation and coaching education office should be useful to Madugu with data collection, opposition scouting and match reading analyses ahead of the WAFCON 2026 qualifiers and final tournament.

The Falcons will also need to be improved. The weaknesses observed during the just concluded competition should be worked on and corrected while the strong areas are reinforced. Some of the aging players who are already getting past their prime should be respectfully eased out for younger, more agile, fitter, faster and stronger players.

Nigeria has to be deliberate about maintaining her dominance in women’s football on the continent. There should be concerted efforts to improve the structure of the women clubs, make the league more competitive, focus on grassroots programmes in and out of schools across the streets, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and then get a huge buy in from the private sector for this national project of developing the women’s game.

The outgoing Nigeria Women League board, led by Nkechi Obi, did a good job last season. The season was very well organised and competitive. The eventual winners, Bayelsa Queens, needed to wait till the last minute of the last game to be sure they had emerged champions. Of course, there is always room for improvement.

The National Sports Commission and the football authorities should also tap into the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s love for sports, especially football, to get Corporate Nigeria and Government’s support for this huge task.

The First Lady spoke about the dream of lifting the FIFA Women World Cup some day…soon, the truth is that with strategic planning it is possible. She can lead the way by laying the foundation for it to happen.

Please, dear First Lady: You can galvanise private sector collaborations with government support for the revamping and strengthening of the women’s game, direct some of the women friendly corporates to invest in it and help to put proper structures in place across all the government owned women clubs for more effective and efficient delivery and one day, that dream of Nigeria winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup will become a reality.

For the Nigeria Football Federation, the attention on the women age grade teams and competitions should not wane. In fact, there should be the creation of more local U13, U15, U17, U20 and U23 competitions. There should also be very deliberate investment in women football coaching.

Without a doubt, Nigeria’s dominance in women football on the African continent is established and the next strategic move should be to close the gap with some of the best women football nations in the world. The best teams are in Europe and America.

Did you know that some two decades ago, Nigeria was ahead of England in women’s football? The Super Falcons even went on a playing tour of England in the early 2000s and beat the England national women’s football team 3-1 in a friendly.

Going down memory lane, it will not be out of place to recognise some of the persons that helped in giving Nigeria the head start to women’s football. These persons saw the future from way back in the late 1980s.

Pioneers like Elder Eddington Kuejubola who founded Ufuoma Babes in present-day Delta State, late Chief Larry Eze who founded Larry Angels that would later become the Rivers Angels of today, Princess Bola Jegede (Jegede Babes), late Alhaja Simbiat Abiola (Simbiat Babes), Alhaja Oladimeji (Oladimeji Tigress), Alhaja Ayo Omidiran (Omidiran Babes) and late Julie Useni, the former First Lady of the Federal Capital Territory and wife of the late General Jeremiah Useni, who founded Julie Babes that later became FCT Queens. The Cross River State Government bankrolled Pelican Stars that bestrode the Nigerian women football landscape like a colossus in the late 1990s to early 2000s. The impact that clubs like Verobim, Delta Queens, Inneh Queens (now Edo Queens) as well as FCT Queens made on the domestic scene back in the days cannot be forgotten.

Women’s football in Nigeria has also benefitted immensely from Corporate Nigeria in the past. Soft drink giants Pepsi and Noodles manufacturers Indomie readily come to mind. The marketing manager of Pepsi in the late 1990s, Iain Nelson, made the Super Falcons and women football development in Nigeria a personal project. His support strengthened the women’s league and laid the foundation for professionalism in the game. Till date, the impact of the sponsorship and commitment of Mr Nelson and his company to domestic football in Nigeria is still being referenced.

To end this write up, it is important to highlight the huge role played by the media, over the years, in women’s football development in Nigeria.

Take as many bows as you wish, Smarts Ebhodaghe (he dragged me into women football reportage in 1998), Dare Joseph, Harry Awurumibe, Ben Alozie, Tonnie Okpara, Philip Balepo, Pepsie Adiukwu, Colin Udoh and to those no longer around with us, the late Henrietta Ukaigwe and Dapo Sotuminu. These ‘old’ generation reporters are worthy of national honours.

The new generation of reporters led by Sam Ahmadu have also shown that they can carry on with the responsibility of properly reporting the women’s game and help to chart a better future for its growth and development.