Sports
Amodu Impressed With Draw
Nigeria’s coach, Shuaibu Amodu described as ‘good’, the Super Eagles draw for the preliminary stage of next year’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but admits that things will be tough.
The Eagles will play South American powerhouse Argentina, Korea and Greece in Group B.
A very relaxed Amodu told Tide Sports’ source immediately after the draw that it was up to him and his team to be prepared to make progress beyond the preliminary stages.
“It is quite a good draw,” Amodu said. “As you know, every group is tough, but we must all be prepared for it.”
Nigeria have lost to Argentina on the two occasions both sides have met in the World Cup in 1994 and 2002, and beat Greece in 1994 but Amodu says there are no guarantees.
“Obviously, the biggest team on paper is Argentina, but we don’t have to worry. Anybody who is coming to the World Cup must be prepared to face any team and they will all be difficult”.
“If you do well and progress to the next round, you may meet them there so it doesnt matter when we play Argentina, we just have to look to our own preparations.”
And the Nigerian coach remains confident that the Super Eagles will make it through to the second round.
“Nigeria is one team everybody is looking at to do well, and I believe that we should be able to represent ourselves well and in that group and come out to the second round.”
Amodu however, refused to be drawn on how far Nigeria will go.
“Definitely, our ambition is to fight and fight and come out of that group. But the first thing is to think about the group stage and focus on it. If we do that as I think we should, we can then think about how far we can go.”
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
