The Sorry State Of The Super Falcons

Last Friday, Champions of Africa, the Super Falcons were given a football lesson as they were whitewashed by the France women national team 8-0. 

The result, to say the least, was humiliating for a country of Nigeria's stature. We are not talking of a team who are minnows in female football in Africa but Africa's supposedly strongest side. A team that has won a record 7 Africa Women Championship titles. 

It is interesting to note that this team is playing her first competitive game since winning the Africa Women's Cup of Nations hosted by Cameroun in 2016. This is a sad indicator why the team played so poorly against France.

I am sure this is not the case with the French but the fact that for a whole year, the Super Falcons did not play even a single friendly match even if it's against inferior opposition to keep the ladies in sync with each other is a serious indictment on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). 

NFF chairman, Amaju Pinnick, was full of apology for the humbling result on Twitter citing 'unintentional neglect' being the main reason for the embarrassment.

This result equals Nigeria's 2 worst defeats in female football history for the Falcons. In those games, Nigeria lost to Norway and the USA by the same score line.

The continued lack of interest in developing and promoting female football in the country and consolidating on the achievements of our female national teams in the past is the reason why teams like Cameroun, South Africa, Ghana and Equitorial Guinea have caught up with the Super Falcons and probably even surpassed them.

There was a time, Nigeria could roll out two different Falcons teams to play in different competitions almost simultaneously. A case in point was when Nigeria hosted the All Africa games and had to send a team to the women's World Cup as well. We comfortably fielded a Team B that defeated South Africa in the All Africa games final thus winning the gold medal while the Team A who were the main squad went ahead to play in the World Cup.

Gone are the days. It would be nothing short of the miraculous if Nigeria can produce 2 senior teams that would match the quality of players we had then. There is no production line to churn out players  for the national team anymore because the female league is in a shambles. 

There is hardly any coverage in the media of female football and of course there are very few women clubs and teams available these days. This is probably due to the harsh economic climate in the country which makes it extremely difficult if not impossible for philanthropists to run female clubs. State governments who run many of the teams in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) are probably not willing to add to the wage bill by owning female teams as well.

Things though have to change if we want genuine success for our female national team. 

When the Super Falcons started making an impact at the world stage it was because we took steps that yielded results. We had a vibrant female league  that had our best players such as Mercy Akide, Florence Omagbemi, Ann Agumanu Chiejine, Patience Avre and others playing in our league in teams like Jegede Babes, Pelican Stars and Rivers Angels.

Our modest success in the World Cup  hosted by the USA in 1999 opened the eyes of clubs all around the world to the quality of players Nigeria could produce and so they started signing these players.

What could have been an opportunity for Nigeria to develop our women's league and produce more talented players proved the beginning of the end as gradually we have stopped producing these top class players who will give France, Brazil, Spain, Germany or the USA a run for the money.

The NFF has done well in organising the friendly with France. There should be more of this sort in future as we prepare for the African Women's Cup of Nations. The NFF earlier in the year hired a Swede, Thomas Dennerby to take charge of the team. The team's battering by France was his baptism of fire. He must begin to realise the work on his hands now.

The women's league has to be made vibrant again. The league doesn't have to be a long season or have many teams. An 8-12 team league won't be bad for starters.

The NFF also needs to find a way to rekindle interest in female football in the country even though it is struggling to do so for their male counterparts. There has to be a sponsor for the league with broadcast rights sold to interested media houses who will show the games on TV.

Clubs and organisations who have an interest in registering female teams should also be encouraged to do so even if it is at an amateur level. The money the NFF can get from the sponsors of the league or any competition can help many a team stay afloat and grow when they receive substantial sums for their participation every year.

The current NFF regime has shown a level of leadership, vision and professionalism never seen before. If they can extend these traits to women's football in Nigeria then posterity will judge them favourably.

Edwin Okon's Dismissal Comes As No Surprise

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have announced the sacking of Super Falcons coach, Edwin Okon, after the Super Falcons failed to qualify from their group in the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada after disappointing defeats to Australia and the United States. 

Okon will be replaced by his assistant, Christopher Danjuma who takes over on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found. Danjuma will be in charge of the Olympics qualifier match between the Super Falcons and Equitorial Guinea.

In as much as Okon should be commended for guiding the Nigeria women's team to victory at the African Women's Championship in Namibia last year, he showed at the Women's World Cup that he was way out of his depth.

He failed to get his team's defence organised in all their group games with opposing teams exploiting their defensive naivety at will especially from set plays. 2 of Sweden's 3 goals in the Super Falcons opening game came from 'schoolgirl' defending during set plays.

He also failed to get the best out of a Nigerian attack which was feared by not a few teams in the tournament. The attack which showed a lot of promise in the first game after forcing Sweden to a 3-3 draw was toothless in their remaining matches against Australia and the USA.

These and his poor tactics convinced the NFF to show him the exit door. Okon can't have too many complaints since fellow rivals, Cameroun in their first appearance at the Women's Wold Cup, exceeded expectations to qualify from their group. 

Nigeria has never gone beyond the quarter finals of the Women's World Cup, a feat it last achieved in 1999. In Africa, Nigeria has been dominant but at the world stage, where it really counts, the Super Falcons have fallen short.

One of the reasons for this persistent failure at the top level is the tactical incompetence of the Nigerian coaches who have been in charge of the Super Falcons over the years. 

The Falcons teams which have always represented Nigeria at the World Cup have rarely been poor technically but talent alone does not win you tournaments. Talent can help a team win against inferior opposition but it might not be enough when they are up against equal or superior teams.

Nigeria has to find a solution to the ineptitude of its football coaches since the hiring of foreign coaches remain out of the question for Nigeria especially in female football.

It appears that most Nigerian coaches are content with mediocrity and are not willing to update their knowledge on the current trends of the modern game. They need to invest in themselves and stop depending on the NFF to sponsor them to coaching courses.

We hope that the Super Falcons will bounce back from their early ouster from the World Cup in Canada and qualify for the Olympics in Brazil next year and do better than previous showings in the female soccer event.