Sports
Women’s W/Cup: ‘S’Falcons’ve A Chance’
Five-time African player of the year, Asisat Oshoala, has welcomed Nigeria’s 2023 Women’s World Cup draw, which pits them against co-hosts Australia and Olympic champions Canada.
The ever-present Super Falcons will also face the Republic of Ireland, who will be making their tournament debut in Group B.
“I think we have a really good group. It’s the World Cup and it’s not meant to be easy or a walk in the park. With the group we have, I feel we have a chance,” Barcelona forward Oshoala told news men.
The tournament will begin on 20 July next year, with Nigeria opening their campaign against Canada in Melbourne on 21 July before facing Australia and the Republic of Ireland in Brisbane.
All three countries sit above Nigeria in the world rankings, with Canada seventh, Australia 13th and the Republic of Ireland in 24th, some 21 places above the West Africans.
The nine-time African champions played two friendlies against Canada in April, losing 2-0 before a 2-2 draw, but the World Cup fixture will be the third meeting between the two nations at the tournament.
Their first encounter was a 3-3 draw at the 1995 World Cup in Sweden, followed by a 1-0 win for Nigeria in a dead rubber at the 2011 global showpiece, while the West Africans lost 2-0 to Australia in the 2015 event.
“We get to play Canada, a team we know very well, and of course Australia,” Oshoala added.
“It won’t be easy against the Republic of Ireland, but we had Australia in our 2015 group. We lost to them 2-0. It’s a good opportunity for us to come back and also prove that we’ve improved from the team they played seven years ago.
“We have a very good group and are really excited for the tournament.”
Continental giants Nigeria are the only African team to have played in all eight Women’s World Cups since 1991, but the Super Falcons have failed to translate their continental dominance on to the world stage.
Their best performance at the World Cup came when reaching the quarter-finals in 1999, while they also reached the knockout stages in 2019, losing 3-0 to Germany.
After making scoring appearances at both the 2015 and 2019 finals, Oshoala is targeting a place in coach Randy Waldrum’s squad next year.
“I hope I get picked to go to the tournament because it’s the coach who makes the World Cup selection,” she said.
“If I get an opportunity to play for the national team during this tournament, I would give 100%. I’m really looking forward to it. Really excited for this one and let’s see what 2023 brings to us.”
South Africa may have claimed their maiden continental title this year but the team has struggled since, after being outclassed in friendlies against Brazil and Australia.
For their second appearance on the global stage, South Africa have been paired in a tricky group G against Sweden, Italy and Argentina.
But coach Desiree Ellis said Banyana Banyana are in a “reasonable” group and feels confident her side can progress to the last 16.
“I think it’s a reasonable draw. We’ve played Sweden before but we haven’t met Italy and Argentina,” she told the South African FA website.
“It could have been a tougher one, so we are happy with it. When it comes to Sweden, we have played against the Netherlands and they are similar.
“And with regards to Argentina, we have played against Brazil and they are similar. Italy are from the same continent as the Netherlands, but maybe they are different types of teams.
“Now the planning and preparation starts – the analysing of teams and making sure that we have as much information as we can – and also getting the right friendlies.”
World Cup debutants Zambia stunned Nigeria in a play-off encounter to finish third at this year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco.
They have been handed the task of facing 2011 world champions Japan, Spain and Costa Rica in Group C.
“There are no easy teams in women’s football at the moment. For us, it’s just important to be here, especially as this is our first time,” coach Bruce Mwape told Fifa.com.
“The whole country is behind us, supporting the team, and our achievements recently show that there has been a lot of improvement in Zambian football.”
Africa’s other representative Morocco have been drawn to face two-time World Cup winners Germany, Colombia and South Korea in Group H.
Meanwhile, possible opponents have also been drawn for Cameroon and Senegal, who will feature in the 10-team intercontinental play-offs to reach the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Should they pick a ticket in New Zealand, Senegal will come up against European champions England, Denmark and China in Group D.
Seeking a third successive appearance at the Women’s World Cup, the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon could end up facing record four-time winners and holders USA, Vietnam and the Netherlands in Group E.
Akpata emerged unopposed during the federation’s annual general meeting and board elections, which ended in Abuja on Saturday.
The election was decided by 37 delegates, with 12 other board members also emerging, to steer the affairs of the federation for the next four years.
Former Kwara State stalwart, Wale Obalola, emerged as the vice president at the election.
Representative of the South-West on the NCF board, Tayo Atoloye, also returned for another term, while team manager of the Junior Female Yellow Greens, Femi John, was elected as the representative of the South-South on the board.
Other zonal representatives are Chika Okoro (South-East), Ladan Usman (North-West), Dare Aimola (North-Central), and Zainab Adamu (North-East).
Former captain of the men’s national team, Endurance Ofem, secured 30 of the 37 votes to beat another ex-player, Chimezie Onwuzulike, for the players’ representative seat.
Olumide Akinkokun emerged as the technical representative, Prof Mariam Suleiman will represent the National Association of Women in Sports, Chuma Anosike as the sponsors’ representative, while the military and paramilitary will be represented on the board by Major Monica Wabulla.
The president, Akpata, was first elected in 2021 and has driven the growth of Nigerian cricket in the last four years.
Part of his notable achievements include the heavy investment in infrastructure and high-performance, national grassroots development programmes, as well as the introduction of professional contracts for Nigerian players.
Earlier this year, the women’s U-19 team finished sixth at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, after the senior team had won a historic bronze medal at the last edition of the African Games in Ghana in 2024.
Nigeria has also bagged several International Cricket Council awards in recognition of the country’s strides towards growing the game, especially for women.
The 22-year-old ran a scorching 47.11 seconds in Friday’s final, smashing his previous national record of 47.31 seconds set earlier this year and becoming only the second Nigerian since Henry Amike in 1987 to reach the 400m hurdles final at the World Championships.
“I hope this performance will inspire young Nigerian athletes,” Nathaniel said after the dramatic final
“This is a great opportunity to learn from the world’s best athletes.”
The race saw American Rai Benjamin storm to victory in 46.52 seconds to finally clinch his first world championship gold medal after two silvers and a bronze, but not without drama.
Benjamin was initially disqualified for crashing into the final hurdle and affecting other athletes, briefly elevating Nathaniel to bronze position. However, the American’s appeal was quickly upheld and he was restored to the top of the timesheet.
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos claimed silver in 46.84 seconds, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 47.06 seconds, leaving Nathaniel agonisingly close to Nigeria’s second medal of the championships.
Despite the near-miss, Nathaniel remained philosophical about the disqualification reversal.
It’s a fair call,” the Nigerian said.
“He put in a lot of work to get that medal and if they are trying to rip off from that, I don’t think that’s fair. He didn’t deliberately knock over the hurdle, that could happen to anyone.”
The former 800m runner, who competes for Baylor University in Texas, expressed satisfaction with his performance and hinted at greater things to come saying, “I still have a lot of potential. I am pleased because I did my best and I ran a personal record. I have it in me and just need to wait for the right time. For now, I am enjoying the process.”
Nathaniel’s rapid rise in the event has been remarkable. Born in 2003, he broke a decades-old Nigerian record set by Henry Amike when he ran 48.42 seconds at the Big 12 Conference meet in 2022 as a freshman.
His progress accelerated dramatically this year. In June, he won the NCAA Outdoor Championships title in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 47.49 seconds – the third fastest time in NCAA history. He also became the first man in NCAA history to run a sub-48-second time in the 400m hurdles semifinal, recording 47.86 seconds.
The Tokyo performance adds another chapter to what has been an exceptional year for the young hurdler, who has now established himself among the world’s elite quarter-mile hurdlers.
While Nathaniel’s fourth-place finish matches Amike’s result from the 1987 World Championships in Rome, his national record performance signals a bright future for Nigerian athletics in the event.
Nigeria’s campaign in Tokyo concluded with Tobi Amusan as the country’s only medallist, though this still represented an improvement over the Budapest World Championships where Team Nigeria ended empty-handed.
-
Sports3 days ago
CAFCL : Rivers United Arrives DR Congo
-
Sports3 days ago
FIFA rankings: S’Eagles drop Position, remain sixth in Africa
-
Sports3 days ago
NNL abolishes playoffs for NPFL promotion
-
Sports3 days ago
NPFL club name Iorfa new GM
-
Sports3 days ago
Kwara Hopeful To Host Confed Cup in Ilorin
-
Sports3 days ago
NSF: Early preparations begin for 2026 National Sports Festival
-
Sports3 days ago
RSG Award Renovation Work At Yakubu Gowon Stadium
-
Sports3 days ago
RSG Pledges To Develop Baseball