Hephtess

Sadio Mane is the very first winner of the Socrates award 🏆

The award is given to a player to recognise their humanitarian achievements ❤️

*WOMEN FOOTBALL GOING DOWN_ AISHA FALODE SHOULD BE IN GOOD POSITION TO EXPLAIN THIS SETBACK...*

Significantly , with chunk of funds coming in yearly to develop female football it's still a mystery how grassroot female football in Nigeria is still dormant.

FIFA member associations in which Nigeria is a key member can access up to USD 5 million per four-year cycle; USD 750,000 per year for projects such as pitches, competitions and women's football- with a grant of USD 500,000 per year for administrative costs.

Tentatively the funds that NFF consistently receive, USD 500,000 is normally disbursed in July, provided that the member association fulfil up to ten specific activities during that particular season...Even without the completion of these projects, the NFF finds a way to key in on the these funds .

* How does Nigeria use it's Football allocations ?

* What percentage goes to grassroot women football development..?

These questions need begging answers looking at the fallen standard of female football in Nigeria.

Women’s football is becoming increasingly popular in Africa, with the Confederation for African Football recently introducing a continent-wide competition for women at club level. And Nigeria’s National Women’s Football team – The Falcons – have long maintained domination of national team football in Africa. They’ve won 11 of 13 championships including the inaugural one in 1991 and the latest edition in 2018. But this dominance is dwindling...

Unfortunately, they are not treated as equal to the men’s team that has not dominated its African opponents.

Historically, Football was introduced to Nigeria by the colonists in the late 1800s. Women were recorded playing the sport by the early 1930s. However, British administrators frowned on women’s adoption of the sport. In 1950, the Nigerian Dailytimes reported that the colonists threatened to forbid any playing ground that allowed women to play.

Nigerian women resisted this edict and continued to play football, on grounds outside the control of the national football association. This meant playing on school grounds or wherever there was space. It was a decision that grew the game, increasingly allowing more women to participate.

In the 1970s, Women Football Clubs began to emerge in Nigeria and, by the 1980s, the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria organised a National Cup competition for female Footballers.

Eventually, the Nigeria Football Association (now the Nigeria Football Federation) recognised women’s football by organising its first national competition for women in order to raise a national team for the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991.

After all the struggle, Nigeria remains the most successful female team in Africa, yet we have the largest disparities between men’s and women’s pay.

Consistently, players have failed to publicly protest against other poor treatments for fear of isolation.

Proactively- Nigerian women’s plight and down turn can be traced to a lengthy period of resistance in the country’s women’s Football Sector.

What's your own opinion about Women's Football in Nigeria?