ORUFUO EZAGA argues for major investment in the Nigeria Women’s Football League 

In recent times I have watched with some amusement as the government and big corporate organisations fall over themselves to celebrate the Super Falcons after they conquered Africa and brought home a record-extending 10th CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title.

Victory has many friends indeed. Yesterday’s forgotten players and team officials are now everyone’s darlings; splashed with cash and non-cash gifts from all angles. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led the tributes, hailing the team for inspiring all Nigerians, and, of course, “renewing hope” for their struggling compatriots.

He gifted each of the 24 players a whopping $100,000, while the 11-man technical team got $50,000 each. That added up to a largesse of $2.95m (N4.53b). The governor of Kwara State and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, also on hand to toast the girls with the president, announced a further N10m for each player on behalf of all the governors.

Corporate Nigeria has not been left behind. Telecoms giants MTN gifted the team N150m, while Nigerian Breweries Plc recommitted to sponsoring the national teams. Premium Trust Bank promised N5m for each player while coach Justin Magudu would get N10m.

Apart from the cash rewards, each of the players and officials was awarded the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) national honours in addition to getting a three-bedroom flat at the Renewed Hope Estate in Abuja.

We Nigerians are notoriously unsupportive of anyone who has not hit it big. What we do in spades is to identify with you if you manage to succeed. For context, 16 of the 24 players in the current Super Falcons launched their careers in the Nigeria Women’s Football League. The NWFL is instrumental in developing these players yet it is neglected by the government and corporate Nigeria.

Virtually all of our most celebrated Super Falcons ever have come through the NWFL. Of the current crop, captain Rasheedat Ajibade played for FC Robo Queens of Lagos, while vice-captain Chiamaka Nnadozie won the league title with Rivers Angels.

If despite receiving minimal support and funding the NWFL is still a reasonably successful breeding ground for many of our future Super Falcons, imagine what can happen if we are intentional about supporting and developing it.

The NWFL is that proverbial goose laying the golden eggs and we have refused to nourish it. Consider this, NWFL prize money for the 2024-25 season was a RECORD N25.5m! The champions Bayelsa Queens got N10m. Meanwhile, there are 12 clubs in the NWFL with a combined total of over 300 players!

N25.5m is just $15,993!!! The Super Falcons got almost N5b in cash alone! Do not misunderstand me, the Falcons deserve their reward, but it is mystifying that we see such value in them and not support the pipeline that brings them to us? This disingenuous approach to sports by the government and corporate Nigeria is why an industry that can contribute 3% to our GDP is still comatose in a world of booming sports commerce.

While the national team is glamourous and good for nationhood, it is the NWFL that creates and sustains jobs for thousands of young girls, administrative staff, kit manufacturers, journalists, content creators, coaches, medical firms, physiotherapists, facility managers, cameramen and camerawomen, petty traders on matchdays, etc.  

For all the beauty of their victory in Morocco, the WAFCON comes once every two years and is played over just three weeks. In contrast, the NWFL is played every year, over several months and across many states.

This is why in the countries with thriving sports industries, their leagues attract far more investments than their national teams. In the USA for instance, the least valued of the NBA’s 30 teams, Memphis Grizzlies, has a valuation of $3b according to Sportico, while the USA national team is valued at just $500m by the Wall Street Journal. Each of the top clubs in the English Premier League has considerably higher market valuations than the national team.

If we are to achieve our goal of rising above Africa to become a global force, the NWFL would need major government and private sector investments and support. I would like to see the MTNs, NB Plcs, Premier Trust Banks, provide strong financial and maybe even corporate leadership and process management support to the NWFL.

Get behind the platform that produces the champions and we will not only conquer the world; it would create a massive local industry that puts food on countless tables around Nigeria everyday.     

Super Falcons with NWFL history: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Rivers Angels), Tochukwu Oluehi (Bayelsa Queens, Sunshine Queens), Rachael Unachukwu (Nasarawa Amazons), Osinachi Ohale (Delta Queens, Rivers Angels), Shukurat Oladipo (FC Robo Queens), Sikiratu Isa (Nasarawa Amazons), Oluwatosin Demehin (Sunshine Queens, Rivers Angels), Miracle Usani (Edo Queens), Rasheedat Ajibade (FC Robo Queens), Halimatu Ayinde (Delta Queens), Deborah Abiodun (Rivers Angels), Christy Ucheibe (Nasarawa Amazons), Asisat Oshoala (FC Robo Queens, Rivers Angels), Francisca Ordega (Rivers Angels, Bayelsa Queens), Chiwendu Ihezuo (Delta Queens),

Folashade Ijamilusi (FC Robo Queens, Edo Queens).

 Ezaga is Sports business consultant,

Presenter, Sports Business with Orufuo Ezaga

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