Former Deputy National Chairman of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Ikechukwu Ani, has described the Super Falcons’ performance at the just-concluded African women’s football championship in Morocco as a “disgrace” to Nigeria, blaming the team’s poor showing on inadequate preparation, weak technical direction and years of neglect in the management and development of women’s football.
Ani, who is also the immediate past Head of Protocol and Public Relations at the Police Service Commission (PSC), said the Super Falcons appeared to have approached the tournament with an inflated sense of entitlement arising from their status as defending champions and record 10-time winners of the continental competition.
According to him, the team seemed to have arrived in Morocco believing that its historical dominance alone would be sufficient to secure another title, rather than treating the championship as a fresh competition requiring serious preparation, tactical planning and sustained investment.
He said the attitude was reflected in the team’s performances throughout the tournament, which he described as uninspiring and far below the standard expected of Nigeria’s most successful women’s football side.
“From the beginning, it was obvious and manifest that the Nigerian senior female football team, the Super Falcons, were on a jamboree in Morocco,” Ani said.
He argued that the players appeared to have been carried away by their previous successes, adding that the team “arrived in Morocco as not only defending champions but ten times winners of the championship” and seemingly believed they were in the country merely to collect another trophy.
Ani also criticised the preparation of the team and the tactics employed by the coaching crew, questioning the continued presence of Madugu on the technical bench.
He described the coach as being “bereft of ideas” and accused him of failing to respond appropriately to obvious weaknesses displayed by the team during the competition.
Of particular concern to him was the goalkeeping situation, which he said exposed the extent of the team’s lack of preparation and technical supervision.
Ani maintained that the goalkeeper showed signs of rustiness from Nigeria’s opening match against Malawi and alleged that she was responsible for contributing to the three goals conceded by the Falcons.
He, however, said the goalkeeper should not bear the blame alone, arguing that the responsibility ultimately rested with the coaching crew for failing to identify and address the problem.
“I don’t blame her. I blame the coach who sat at the bench watching the macabre dance of shame,” he said, questioning why the goalkeeper was retained for subsequent matches despite what he described as her obvious deficiencies.
He called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the team’s preparation, selection and technical management at the tournament.
Ani warned that the situation should not be allowed to degenerate in the same manner he said had affected the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s senior men’s national team.
“This is how it started with the Super Eagles, and today, Nigeria has failed to qualify for two World Cup competitions,” he said.
He identified indecision and poor management as major obstacles to Nigeria’s progress, arguing that the problem extended beyond football to other areas of national development.
According to him, the failure of the Falcons was not necessarily their elimination from the championship, particularly after Nigeria had dominated African women’s football for many years.
He said the emergence of other competitive teams on the continent was healthy for the growth of women’s football and should be encouraged.
“I really don’t have issues that the Falcons were knocked out from the ongoing African championship. After winning the championship a record ten times, there was a need for growth of female football in the continent and for other countries to also win,” he said.
Ani, however, expressed concern over the manner of the Falcons’ decline, stressing that his major disappointment was that Nigeria had fallen so far from its traditional position of dominance that it could no longer confidently be regarded among the continent’s top sides.
“My anger with this present squad is how low they have dropped and cannot even make the first six in the pecking order in Africa, where they dominated for over a decade,” he said.
The former SWAN national officer consequently called on the Federal Government to undertake a comprehensive review of the management of sports in the country and remove officials he believes have outlived their usefulness.
He advocated a new approach to sports administration based on long-term planning, technical development, proper preparation and continuous investment in athletes and national teams.
“I think the Federal Government should tinker with the management of our sports and sweep out all persons who have outlived their usefulness. We need a new beginning. We need to build afresh and collectively work to restore our dignity,” Ani said.
He stressed that Nigeria still had the opportunity to reverse the decline if decisive action was taken, adding that the country could regain its position of prominence through purposeful leadership and sustained investment in sports development.
“Obviously, we live in perilous times. It is, however, not late to get it right once again,” he said.
