By Harry Awurumibe

There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigerians in general and football followers in particular are still in Cloud 9 over the huge number of awards won by Nigerian players especially the top two prizes in men and women categories as well as crowning the senior women’s football team Super Falcons National Team Of The Year at the just concluded CAF Awards 2023, organised by the continental football governing body, Confederation of African Football (CAF).

But as the euphoria of the CAF Awards 2023 held in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday, December 11, 2023 continues to reverberate in Nigeria and the rest of Africa, especially the feat achieved by Victor James Osimhen who won the CAF 2023 Player Of The Year (Men) and Asisat Lamina Oshoala who picked the Player Of The Year (Women) for a record six times which no player has done since the award was given out for the first time in 2001, Africa and Nigeria’s foremost women’s football journalist, HARRY AWURUMIBE here gives reasons Nigeria’s dominance of the annual prestigious CAF Awards Women Category and by extention women’s football will continue for a long time to come except the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) fails to move with the time.

Recall Nigerian players won the two most prestigious awards as Super Eagles striker and Napoli of Italy talismanic goalpoacher, Victor Osimhen won the CAF Player Of The Year (Men) while his compatriot, Super Falcons forward and FC Barcelona femeni star, Asisat Lamina Oshoala won the CAF Player Of The Year (Women) respectively.

Also, Super Falcons first-choice goalkeeper and Paris FC of France star, Chiamaka Cynthia Nnadozie won the Goalkeeper Of The Year (Women) for her fantastic performances for club and country during the year under review just as Super Falcons won National Team Of The Year (Women) based on the team’s impressive performance in the last FIFA Women’s World Cup final in Australia and New Zealand and recent three-match victory over Ethiopia and Cape Verde.

A closer look at the awards on offer in Marrakech showed that out of the 15 awards presented to winners, four came to Nigeria in a continent of 54 countries.

Specifically, out of seven top prizes in the Women’s Category, Nigeria swept three, leaving four prizes for the rest 53 nations in Africa to share to show the West Africa’s overwhelming superiority over other African people in women’s football. Nigeria’s three awards in Women Category as stated above translates to 60% which is a good grade.

In fact, for the past 22 years when CAF introduced the CAF Player Of The Year (Women) formerly called African Women Footballer of the Year, Nigerian women players have dominated the award with the country winning the top prize several times including the 2023 prize won by Oshoala.

Aside Oshoala, two other Nigerian women players have won multiple CAF Player Of The Year Award at different times. They are African legendary top goalscorer Perpetua Nkwocha who won it four times and Cynthia Uwak with two Awards respectively.

Statistics showed that while Nigerian players have won combined 13 top prizes, both Ghana and South Africans won two prizes each as Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea won one prize each since the award debuted in 2001.

See Table Below

Multiple Award Winners

Player Title Country
Asisat Oshoala 6 NGR
Perpetua Nkwocha 4 NGR
Cynthia Uwak 2 NGR

Awards Won By Nationality

Nation Winners
Nigeria 13
Ghana 2
South Africa 2
Cameroon 1
Equatorial Guinea 1

All Past Award Winners
2001-Mercy Akide, Nigeria
2002–Alberta Sackey, Ghana
2003- Adjoa Bayor, Ghana
2004– Perpetua Nkwocha, Nigeria
2005 – Perpetua Nkwocha, Nigeria
2006 – Cynthia Uwak, Nigeria
2007– Cynthia Uwak, Nigeria
2008 – Noko Matlou, South Africa
2009– not awarded
2010– Perpetua Nkwocha, Nigeria
2011 – Perpetua Nkwocha, Nigeria
2012 – Genoveva Añonma, Equatorial Guinea
2013 – not awarded
2014 – Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria
2015– Gaëlle Enganamouit, Cameroon
2016– Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria
2017– Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria
2018 – Thembi Kgatlana, South Africa
2019 – Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria
2022– Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria
2023 – Asisat Oshoala, Nigeria

The above statistics showed that it will take many decades before the rest of Africa will struggle to equal or break Nigeria’s dominance in women’s football no matter how much they try.

Indeed, Nigeria’s pioneering efforts in women’s football development and promotion in Africa cannot be ignored as the country took a cue from the Western nations to allow women to play football as far back as mid 1960s when a group of visionaries founded an organisation called “Women’s Amateur Football Association” (WAFA) in Lagos, the then political and commercial capital of Nigeria.

As captured in the book “Genesis of Female Soccer in Nigeria” written by women’s football aficionado, (Harry Chidozie Awurumibe) and published in 1991, WAFA organised a mini-league which dozens of salesgirls working for famous departmental stores like Kingsway, Leventis and Union Trading Company (UTC), featured in for affiliated clubs.

However, the early efforts was not as successful until late 1970s when real organised women’s football was introduced in Nigeria by Mr Christopher Akintunde Abisuga, a Chartered Accountant by profession who returned from his long sojourn in United Kingdom to form the first all-girls semi-professional football club called Sugar Babes FC of Lagos in 1978. All the players were young women who were working with Nigeria Hotels Limited, Ikoyi where Abisuga was the Chief Accountant.

His efforts to popularise women’s football later gained support as Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) which organised several football competitions for boys and girls across the country. Many clubs participated in the YSFON championships.

But 1989 will go down in history as the year that saw a tremendous growth in women’s football development just as it was the year Nigeria government showed interest in the affairs of an organisation called Nigeria Football Proprietors Association (NIFFPA) led by Abisuga as Chairman. Princess Hannah Bola Jegede and Eddington Kuejunbola Co-Vice Chairmen with Joseph Othowowa as the Secretary.

The federal government’s interest in women football came when Nigeria Football Association (NFA) through a letter finally invited the leadership of NIFFPA for a meeting with then NFA Chairman Pa Chuba Ikpeazu; Secretary General Tunji Fagbemi and Deputy Secretary Patrick Okpomo at the Association’s temporary secretariat at National Stadium Surulere, Lagos on March 14, 1989. 
The outcome of that meeting witnessed by this writer laid the solid foundation for the growth of women’s football in Nigeria as the NFA boss authorised State Football Associations (SFA) to register women’s football clubs in their states and report the numbers to the secretariat for further action.

Pa Ikpeazu had made it clear to NIFFPA leadership that the number of clubs in the country and the quality of football displayed by players would determine if NFA will give approval for national competitions after the Proprietors have assured that they have put mechanism in place to ensure that women’s football put Nigeria in the world map in the nearest future.

Four months after the historic meeting and the charge by the NFA, NIFFPA led by Abisuga organised the “2nd All Lagos Female Football Championship” which foremost sports philanthropist Princess Hannah Bola Jegede donated a giant golden trophy for the championship.