Sports

Oparanozie’s Retirement And Falcons’ Legacy

Published

2 years ago

September 15, 2023

The last thing Desire Oparanozie will be remembered for in the Super Falcons is missing a penalty during the shootout against England in the round 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
After a gruelling 120 minutes of football, which ended goalless, the Falcons were knocked out on penalties with the former captain sending Nigeria’s first penalty high into the stands after George Stanway had missed the first kick for England.
That miss was an irony, because Oparanozie is renowned as a good penalty taker and that is one of the things it takes to play first in a game of that magnitude. She was brought into the game with just six minutes left to play in extra time, and that also explains her mission on the pitch.
After being out of the team for about two years, what would be her first involvement on the pitch for the Falcons ended in disappointment at the World Cup and it is not surprising it culminated in her retirement.
What is however shocking is that she is quitting football at club and country level at the age of 29.
“To my fans, family, and friends, thank you for the show of love and support over the years. It’s time to take a bow, as I believe there’s no better time than now. I’m officially announcing my retirement from professional football for both club and country,” Oparanozie announced her retirement via her X handle (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
“To every team and coach I have played for, to every mate I’ve played alongside, and to every opponent I have played against, thank you all for being part of this incredible journey. Thank you, football, thank you Nigeria.”
To say Oparanozie was crestfallen after the Falcons ouster from the World Cup is stating the obvious. Even while the Falcons were hailed for their impressive outing, the striker, unlike some of her teammates, was not bold enough to look into the camera during their departure and arrival in Nigeria.
Although she apologised for the penalty miss, whatever happened cannot taint her legacy with the national team. In 36 games for the Super Falcons, she scored 22 goals and won four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles for her country.
Oparanozie began her career for Nigeria at youth level, twice at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2010 and 2012, where she scored two and three goals respectively. Nigeria reached the final in 2010, losing 2-0 to hosts Germany in the final and also reached the semi-finals in 2012, where they lost 2-0 to the United States.
Between that period, she had also been invited to the Falcons for the 2010 African Women’s Championship, now known as WAFCON. As a 17-year-old then, Oparanozie had a lot to learn from veteran striker Perpetua Nkwocha, who was the most prolific women’s footballer on the continent then.
At the 2010 tournament, Oparanozie did not hide under the shadows of Nkwocha, scoring her first goal of the tournament in the 3-0 thrashing of Tanzania in the last group game. She also went ahead to score one goal each in the semi-final and the final as Nigeria won its eighth continental title in South Africa.
She missed the 2012 tournament but was back and established in 2014, 2016 and 2018, as the Falcons won the title on the three occasions. She is notable for her crucial goals in the 2014 and 2016 tournaments. She scored a 54th minute goal against South Africa in 2016 to book a final spot for Nigeria and her late goal against Cameroon in the final won the 10th title for Nigeria.
“Desire Oparanozie’s retirement is a huge shock but she’s had a hard time with injuries. One of the best Super Falcons strikers ever. I remember how Cameroonian journalists joked with me in Yaounde in 2017, that she used juju to score the 2016 WAFCON winner. They couldn’t believe it,” journalist Nurudeen Obalola stated on X.
“Thank you for an amazing career. It’s been an honour and a pleasure watching, commenting and analysing your games. That 86th minute winner against Cameroon in the 2016 AWCON remains one of the finest ever by any Nigerian footballer,” another journalist, Babatunde Koiki, remarked.
The striker also played at four Women’s World Cups in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 but didn’t score at any of the tournaments.
Since breaking into the senior women’s team, Oparanozie has been one of the most consistent players for the Falcons and when the transition of a new generation dawned in 2019, she was named the new captain of the team by coach Thomas Dennerby, who praised her for her “discipline and good character.”
But her problem with the national team began with her leadership role in the team. Following the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in her role as captain, she led calls for equal pay in Nigerian football, citing disparity between the bonuses received by the team’s male counterparts the Super Eagles and the Falcons. The players also protested their unpaid bonuses and allowances.
It led to her ban from the team but the NFF, through its spokesperson Ademola Olajire, denied her dropping had nothing to do with the protest.
“Oparanozie is still part of the team’s plans, and her non-inclusion has nothing to do with that protest in France because she was not the only one involved. I think she will just have to keep working on her game and, if she gets the opportunity, then push for consistent selection.”
The former Falcons captain lashed out at the NFF for saying that she needed to push harder to be selected, when she was dropped for subsequent games.
“Work on my game and push for consistent selection. Those who’ve been without a club for over a year now, how many of their games did they work on over the past year to merit their inclusion?” she said while reacting to Olajire’s comments.
Overlooked for national team duties, Oparanozie was not distracted at club level as she consistently showed the Nigeria Football Federation what they were missing by not inviting her. After leaving Turkey in 2014, she spent six years with Guingamp, scoring 45 times in 106 games, which made fans of the club name a bus-stop after her in Guingamp.
She also played for Dijon between 2020 and 2022, scoring seven times in 25 appearances as well.
Before going abroad, she had stints with Bayelsa Queens and Delta Queens between 2010 and 2012.
She probably could have been on her way out of the national team unceremoniously in 2021. Therefore, returning to the Falcons after two years was no mean feat. It perhaps proves she deserved her place in the team all these while even if she lost the captaincy.
Eventually, it is safe to say she read the room by quitting after the 2023 World Cup, having been injured for most parts of her last appearances for the Falcons, as she only played six minutes in Australia and New Zealand.
Going by the culture of the Falcons and how Oparanozie herself broke into the national team at 17, it is only a matter of time before emerging strikers like Opeyemi Ajakaye and Sebastine Flourish, who recently dazzled at junior levels, break into the Falcons, while the likes of Uchenna Kanu, Gift Monday, Esther Okoronkwo and Raheedat Ajibade can still carry the team for a few more years.

Sports

NDG: Rivers Coach Appeal To NDDC In Talent Discovery

Published

2 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

Rivers State Chess coach Nnamso Umoren has appealed to relevant authorities, most especially the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to provide funds for scouting of hidden talents at the grassroots.

He stated that lack of funds is hindering most coaches from doing what they are expected to do; hence, they don’t have enough money to travel to rural areas to discover talents.

Umoren made the appeal in an exclusive interview with Tidesports yesterday, in Benin, Edo State, shortly after the second edition of the Niger Delta Games drew her curtains closed.

According to him, without coaches no athlete can perform better, as coaches are the ones that teach athletes the techniques and rudiments of every sport.

“I appeal to the commission to support the coaches with funds to enable them to go to the areas and discover talents. Lack of funds for coaches limits the extent to which they can move around within the state in search of talents.

“I am of the general opinion that without coaches, athletes cannot perform better; hence, the coaches teach them the rudiments of the sports,” Umoren said.

The Chess coach called on the Rivers State government to organise tournaments in the State to know the strength of athletes discovered, saying that will improve sporting activities in the State.

However, he commends NDDC, who are the major sponsors of NDG, and Dumamis Icon Limited for close to perfect organisation.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Rivers Sports Director Rates Niger Delta Games High

Published

3 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Director of Sports, Obia Inyingikabo has that the just concluded second edition of the Niger Delta Games, held in Benin, Edo State, was very impressive and well organised.

She commended both the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Dumamis Icon Limited for the sponsorship and organisation respectively.

According to her, the problem of the team was the epileptic situation of shuttle buses, which was not under the direct control of the sports council.

Inyingikabo said this in a telephone interview with Tidesports yesterday; she confirmed that apart from the poor transport system for athletes, every arrangement went successfully as planned.

The director praised her athletes for making the State proud by winning gold, silver, and bronze medals during the games. She assured the people of Rivers State that in the next edition they will perform better and also used the opportunity to commend Rivers State promoting sports in the State.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Treat Bees, Silkworms As Valuable Resources – Don

Published

3 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

A Professor of Applied Entomology and Pest Management, at the Federal University of Technology Akure,(FUTA), Olufunmilayo Oladipo, has said insects such as bees ,houseflies silkworms and similar species should be seen and treated as valuable resources whose careful management could enhance food security, generate income, support industrial applications, and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economic diversification.

Prof. Oladipo made the remark while delivering the 193rd Inaugural Lecture of the institution on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.

Citing the honeybee as a prime example, Oladipo noted that beyond honey production, bees provide beeswax, royal jelly, propolis and venom used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, while their pollination services significantly increase crop yields and biodiversity.

She also referenced silkworms, whose silk supports textile industries and export earnings, as well as black soldier flies and houseflies, locusts, grasshoppers, mealworms and crickets which are increasingly used in the production of high-protein livestock and aquaculture feeds, thereby reducing dependence on expensive imported feed ingredients.

Speaking on the topic, “Six-Legged Arthropods: Food Security, Health and National Economic Development,” Professor Oladipo highlighted the multiple contributions of insects to national development in a monolithic economy like Nigeria, where over-dependence on crude oil has limited diversification.

She pointed out that insects serve as food for humans and feed for livestock, provide income for households through apiculture, sericulture, and insect-based enterprises, and supply raw materials for pharmaceutical and industrial uses. Beneficial insects also enhance food security through nutrient recycling, biological control of harmful species and weeds, and pollination of crops and horticultural plants, resulting in bumper harvests and increased biodiversity.

Professor Oladipo further mentioned termites and dung beetles for their role in nutrient recycling and soil aeration, improving soil fertility and agricultural productivity. Ladybird beetles and parasitic wasps, she explained, serve as natural biological control agents, reducing populations of destructive pests without harming the environment.

In the area of public health, Oladipo declared that though “the economic toll of insect vectors is staggering, stretching from the household to national economy, thereby undermining productivity, draining family resources, and constraining national growth, certain insects negatively affect agriculture, public health, and livelihoods”.

The professor pointed to the importance of understanding mosquitoes and other disease vectors such as tsetse flies, whose management is critical in combating malaria, yellow fever, dengue, sleeping sickness and other vector-borne diseases that weaken workforce productivity and strain national resources.

She cited data showing that malaria alone costs Africa over 12 billion dollars annually in healthcare expenditures, lost productivity, and reduced investment. Beyond mortality, she emphasized, insect-borne diseases also contribute to morbidity, chronic disability, and reduced workforce efficiency, imposing heavy burdens on families, health systems, and national economies.

She referenced maggot therapy, currently practiced in teaching hospitals in Kano, as a safe and effective treatment for chronic diabetic wounds adding that bioactive compounds from fungus-insect complexes such as Bombyx batryticatus and Beauveria bassiana, which have been developed into medicines with anticonvulsant, anticancer, antifungal, anticoagulant, and hypolipidemic properties.

Weaver ants, bee venom, and cantharidin from blister beetles, she stated, also possess therapeutic value, including immune-boosting, anti-diabetic, anti-arthritic, and antiviral applications. She maintained that strategic government investment in entomotherapy could strengthen healthcare delivery, reduce pharmaceutical import dependence, save lives, and support national economic diversification.

According to her, these examples demonstrate that insects are not merely pests to be eradicated but strategic biological assets that, if properly managed, can enhance food security, strengthen public health systems, generate employment, and support Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda.

The Agric expert noted however, that certain pest species continue to pose threats to agriculture and public health, thereby negatively affecting economic growth. She stressed that proper management, rather than indiscriminate eradication, is key to maximizing the benefits of these six-legged resources.

Professor Oladipo advocated integrated pest management strategies that prioritize environmentally friendly approaches, including botanicals, pheromones, biological control agents, growth regulators, and semiochemicals, while minimizing the use of broad-spectrum synthetic insecticides.

She warned that excessive reliance on chemicals has resulted in resistance, environmental pollution, and harm to non-target organisms. She also called for stricter regulation of pesticide importation and usage under professional supervision, and for stronger surveillance by regulatory authorities to prevent the introduction of exotic pest species.

To strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in entomology, she urged the government to support insect rearing and the conservation of beneficial species and to establish more Departments of Entomology in universities.

On the benefits of insects, she stressed the need for shifting societal perceptions and promoting sustainable practices, calling for stronger linkages between universities and industries to translate research findings into practical applications and commercial opportunities.

Professor Oladipo further appealed for increased funding for research and for targeted support for brilliant but indigent students in science-based disciplines, emphasizing that nurturing the next generation of entomologists and agricultural scientists is critical for national development.

Presenting the inaugural lecturer, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adenike Oladiji, FAS, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development), Professor Sunday Oluyamo, described Professor Oladipo as a distinguished scholar whose research has significantly advanced the field of entomology and strengthened FUTA’s academic and research profile.

The Vice Chancellor who described the lecture as ‘timely’, given Nigeria’s challenges in food security, public health, and economic diversification, commended the inaugural lecturer’s scholarly depth, resilience, and dedication to mentoring students, reaffirming FUTA’s commitment to research that addresses pressing national development priorities.