Nigeria women's national football team

The Nigeria national women's football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, represents Nigeria in international women's football and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation. The team is by far Africa's most successful international women's football team winning a record eleven Africa Women Cup of Nations titles, with their most recent title in 2018, after defeating South Africa in the final. The team is also the only women's national team from the Confederation of African Football to have reached the quarterfinals in both the FIFA Women's World Cup and Football at the Summer Olympics.

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Nigeria national football team.

Nigeria
Nickname(s)Super Falcons
AssociationNigeria Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachRandy Waldrum[1][2]
CaptainAsisat Oshoala
Most capsMaureen Mmadu (101)[3]
Top scorerPerpetua Nkwocha (80)[4]
FIFA codeNGA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 37 1 (18 December 2020)[5]
Highest23 (July 2003)
Lowest39 (December 2018)
First international
 Nigeria 5–1 Ghana 
(Nigeria; 16 February 1991)
Biggest win
 Nigeria 15–0 Niger 
(Côte d'Ivoire; 11 May 2019)
Biggest defeat
 Norway 8–0 Nigeria 
(Tingvalla IP, Sweden; 6 June 1995)
 Germany 8–0 Nigeria 
(Leverkusen, Germany; 25 November 2010)
 France 8–0 Nigeria 
(Le Mans, France; 6 April 2018)
World Cup
Appearances8 (first in 1991)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1999)
Football at the Summer Olympics
Appearances3 (first in 2000)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2004)
Africa Women Cup of Nations
Appearances13 (first in 1991)
Best resultChampions (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018)
WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2018)
Best resultChampions (2019)

They are also one of the few teams in the world to have qualified for every edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, with their best performance at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup where they reached the quarterfinals.

History

They won the first seven African championships and through their first twenty years lost only five games to African competition: 12 December 2002 to Ghana in Warri, 3 June 2007 at Algeria, 12 August 2007 to Ghana in an Olympic qualifier, 25 November 2008 at Equatorial Guinea in the semis of the 2008 Women's African Football Championship and May 2011 at Ghana in an All Africa Games qualification match.

The Super Falcons have been unable to dominate beyond Africa in such arenas as the FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games. The team has been to every World Cup since 1991, but managed just once to finish in the top eight. In 2003, the Super Falcons turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the first round, failing to score a single goal and losing all three Group A matches. They did little better in 2007, drawing only one of their Group B matches. However, they faced the group of death in both 2003 and 2007, grouped both times with rising Asian power North Korea, traditional European power Sweden, and a historic women's superpower in the USA.

Nigeria hosted the African women's championship finals for the third time in 2006, replacing Gabon, which was initially granted the right to host but later pulled out citing financial difficulties, and won it for the seventh time in a row. Nigeria's Super Falcons and Ghana's Black Queens represented Africa in China for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Super Falcons after a training session

The "Falconets" are the country's junior team (U-20), which performed creditably in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup held in Russia when they beat Finland 8–0 before they were sent packing by Brazil in the Quarter-finals. They were the runner-up to Germany at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Nigeria also played in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup held in Canada and lost to Germany in the finals 0–1, Asisat Oshoala got both the golden ball and golden boot.

The "Flamingoes" are the country's cadet team (U-17), which qualified for the inaugural women's U-17 World Cup New Zealand 2008. Nigeria qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup where they were placed in Group A with South Korea, Norway and hosts France.

Team image

Nicknames

The Nigeria women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Super Falcons".

Results and fixtures
  • The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixtures

2021
17 February Turkish Women's Cup Zambia  v  Nigeria Emir Sports Complex
16:00
20 February Turkish Women's Cup Nigeria  v  Uzbekistan Emir Sports Complex
19:00
23 February Turkish Women's Cup Equatorial Guinea  v  Nigeria Emir Sports Complex
16:00

Coaching staff

Current Coaching staff

As of November 2020

PositionNameRef.
Head coach Felix Jenkins [6][7]
Assistant coach Kath Munro
Assistant coach Wemimo Mathew Olanrewaju
Goalkeeping coach Auwar Bashir Makwalla

Manager history
Main article: List of Nigeria women's national football team managers
Name Start date End date Notes Ref
Jo Bonfrere managed Nigeria at 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, concurrently with the men's national team of Nigeria.[8]
Paul Hamilton regarded as the first coach of the women national team; managed Nigeria at 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup[9][10]
Ismaila Mabo managed Nigeria to quarter finals at 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, thus regarded as the most successful coach;[11][12] led Nigeria to 2000 Olympics and 2004 Olympics
Samuel Okpodu 2002 managed Nigeria at 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup
Godwin Izilien managed Nigeria to win 2004 African Women's Championship[13]
Ntiero Effiom managed Nigeria at 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup; led Nigeria to win 2003 All-Africa Games[14]
Joseph Ladipo managed Nigeria at 2008 Olympics; led Nigeria to win 2007 All-Africa Games;[15] managed Nigeria to third place finish at 2008 African Women's Championship[16][17]
Uche Eucharia October 2011 managed Nigeria to win 2010 African Women's Championship; managed Nigeria at 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup [18]
Kadiri Ikhana April 2012 November 2012 led Nigeria to fourth place at 2012 African Women's Championship [19]
Edwin Okon June 2015 managed Nigeria to win 2014 African Women's Championship; managed Nigeria at 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup [20]
Christopher Danjuma September 2015 led Nigeria to fourth place at 2015 All-Africa Games [21]
Florence Omagbemi February 2016 December 2016 led Nigeria to win 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations [22][23]
Thomas Dennerby January 2018 October 2019 led Nigeria to win at 2019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup [24][25][26]
Randy Waldrum 2020 [27][28]

Players

Current squad
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Tochukwu Oluehi (1987-05-02) 2 May 1987 Pozoalbense
16 1GK Chiamaka Nnadozie (2000-12-08) 8 December 2000 Paris
2 2DF Chidinma Okeke (2000-08-11) 11 August 2000 Madrid CFF
3 2DF Osinachi Ohale (1991-12-21) 21 December 1991 Madrid CFF
4 2DF Ngozi Ebere (1991-08-05) 5 August 1991 Arna-Bjørnar
6 2DF Ugochi Emenayo (1997-12-20) 20 December 1997 Nasarawa Amazons
7 2DF Mariam Ibrahim (1995-12-12) 12 December 1995 Nasarawa Amazons
14 2DF Glory Ogbonna (1998-12-25) 25 December 1998 Ibom Angels
5 3MF Regina Otu Edo Queens
11 3MF Chinaza Uchendu (1997-12-03) 3 December 1997 Linköpings
12 3MF Folashade Ijamilusi (2001-05-30) 30 May 2001 Robo
13 3MF Ngozi Okobi (1993-12-14) 14 December 1993 Eskilstuna United
15 3MF Rasheedat Ajibade (1999-12-08) 8 December 1999 Atlético Madrid
18 3MF Ihuoma Onyebuchi (1997-12-10) 10 December 1997 Sunshine Queens
8 4FW Asisat Oshoala (C) (1994-10-09) 9 October 1994 Barcelona
9 4FW Gift Monday (2001-12-09) 9 December 2001 Robo
10 4FW Rofiat Sule (2000-08-03) 3 August 2000 Pink Bari
17 4FW Francisca Ordega (1993-10-19) 19 October 1993 Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank

Recent call-ups
  • Following players have been called up to the Nigeria squad in the past 12 months.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up

Previous squads

Records
Main article: List of Nigeria women's international footballers
  • Active players in bold, statistics as of November 2020.

Honours

Intercontinental

Continental
Champions: 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018

Regional

Other tournaments

Awards

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
1991Group stage10th300307
1995Group stage11th3012514
1999Quarter-finals7th4202812
2003Group stage15th3003011
2007Group stage13th301214
2011Group stage9th310212
2015Group stage21st301236
2019Round of 1616th410327
2023 To be determined
Total8/9-2643192063
FIFA Women's World Cup history
YearRoundDateOpponentResultStadium
1991 Group stage17 November GermanyL 0–4Jiangmen Stadium, Jiangmen
19 November ItalyL 0–1Zhongshan Stadium, Zhongshan
21 November Chinese TaipeiL 0–2Jiangmen Stadium, Jiangmen
1995 Group stage6 June NorwayL 0–8Tingvallen, Karlstad
8 June CanadaD 3–3Olympia Stadion, Helsingborg
10 June EnglandL 2–3Tingvallen, Karlstad
1999 Group stage20 June North KoreaW 2–1Rose Bowl, Pasadena
24 June United StatesL 1–7Soldier Field, Chicago
27 June DenmarkW 2–0Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, Landover
Quarter-finals1 July BrazilL 3–4
2003 Group stage20 September North KoreaL 0–3Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
25 September United StatesL 0–5
28 September SwedenL 0–3Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus
2007 Group stage11 September SwedenD 1–1Chengdu Sports Center, Chengdu
14 September North KoreaL 0–2
18 September United StatesL 0–1Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai
2011 Group stage26 June FranceL 0–1Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
30 June GermanyL 0–1Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt
5 July CanadaW 1–0Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, Dresden
2015 Group stage8 June SwedenD 3–3Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg
12 June AustraliaL 0–2
16 June United StatesL 0–1BC Place, Vancouver
2019 Group stage8 June NorwayL 0–3Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims
12 June South KoreaW 2–0Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
17 June FranceL 0–1Roazhon Park, Rennes
Round of 1622 June GermanyL 0–3Stade des Alpes, Grenoble

Olympic Games
Summer Olympics record
Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA
1996 Did not qualify
2000Group stage300339
2004Quarter-finals310234
2008Group stage300315
2012 Did not qualify
2016
2021
Total3/69108718

Africa Women Cup of Nations
Africa Women Cup of Nations record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
1991Champions6600202
1995Champions6600272
1998Champions5500280
2000Champions5410192
2002Champions5401152
2004Champions5410182
2006Champions5500182
2008Third place513133
2010Champions5500194
2012Fourth place530284
2014Champions5500163
2016Champions5410131
2018Champions5221101
2022
Total11 Titles67548521428

African Games
African Games record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
2003Champions5500171
2007Champions4310142
2011Did not qualify
2015Fourth place5203117
2019 See Nigeria women's national under-20 football team
2023To be determined
Total3/41410134210

See also

References
  1. "Randy Waldrum is new Super Falcons' Head Coach". thenff.com. thenff. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  2. "OFFICIAL: NFF Announce Randy Waldrum AS New Super Falcons Head Coach". MySportDab. Adedotun. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. "FIFA Women's Century Club" (PDF). FIFA. 25 August 2009.
  4. "AFRICAN LEGEND OF THE WEEK: PERPETUA NKWOCHA". Goal.com. 9 March 2017.
  5. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  6. "Randy Waldrum is new Super Falcons' Head Coach". thenff.com. thenff. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. "OFFICIAL: NFF Announce Randy Waldrum AS New Super Falcons Head Coach". MySportDab. Adedotun. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  8. Anthony, Janine (14 April 2016). "China '91, 25 years on: Celebrating the Nigeria Super Falcons". Unusual Efforts. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  9. "Former Super Eagles coach, Paul Hamilton, is dead". The Punch. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  10. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/03/nff-pays-tributes-late-wonderboy-paul-hamilton/
  11. "WOMEN'S WORLD CUP; Flamboyant Nigeria Plays Exuberantly". New York Times. 23 June 1999. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  12. "Falcons loss to Ghana, not a surprise – Mabo". Punch. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  13. Akpodonor, Gowon (30 December 2016). "Agony of ex-Super Falcons coach, Godwin Izilien 12 years after Nations Cup triumph in South Africa". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  14. Sotuminu, Dapo (14 January 2018). "Nigerian national team coaches that died in penury". New Telegraph. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  15. "Coaches react to death of Jossy Lad". Vanguard. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. Paul, Sam (10 October 2014). "AWC: Can Super Falcons Conquer Africa Again?". PM News. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  17. "Nigeria/Ghana: 2008 African Women Championship - Super Falcons Begin Campaign Against Ghana Today". Leadership. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  18. https://news2.onlinenigeria.com/news/top-stories/117201-eucharia-uche-super-falcons-coach-sacked.html
  19. http://saharareporters.com/2012/11/12/kadiri-ikhana-quits-coach-nigerias-national-female-soccer-team-super-falcons
  20. https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/12072/nigeria-women/2015/06/29/13149412/edwin-okon-fired-interim-coach-danjuma-takes-over-super
  21. https://silverbirdtv.com/uncategorized/25095/nff-appoints-florence-omagbemi-super-falcons-coach/
  22. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/florence-omagbemi-appointed-interim-coach-071200397.html
  23. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40988190
  24. admin (25 January 2018). "NFF signs top Swedish coach, Dennerby, for Super Falcons". Nigeria Football Federation. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  25. Abayomi, Tosin. "NFF unveil new Super Falcons coach". Pulse. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  26. https://www.pulse.ng/sports/football/super-falcons-coach-thomas-dennerby-quits-with-a-year-left-on-his-contract/rly9zj5
  27. "Randy Waldrum is new Super Falcons' Head Coach". thenff.com. thenff. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  28. "OFFICIAL: NFF Announce Randy Waldrum AS New Super Falcons Head Coach". MySportDab. Adedotun. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  29. "AFRICAN LEGEND OF THE WEEK: PERPETUA NKWOCHA". Goal.com. 9 March 2017.
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