APPLAUSE FOR THE FLAMINGOS

The Flamingos deserves a hero’s welcome for making their presence felt

Nigeria recorded another first last Saturday evening, becoming the first African nation to win the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup. The victory came after the Flamingos defeated their Japanese counterparts by two goals to one in the final of the cadet World Cup in Rabat, Morocco. Against the fast-paced Asians, a sensational goal by Awawu Bashiru in the first half and a clinical finish by Oluebube Umejiaku in the second rendered Fuki Ito’s 80th minute strike for Japan a mere consolation as the history-makers had already joined the hall of fame of the U17 Women’s World Cup as first Africans to wear the crown.

It is remarkable that the Flamingos became world champions through an indigenous Coach Akeem Busari. Just like all the other five times the male team, Golden Eaglets, had won the FIFA U17 World Cup. Busari has now emulated Sebastian Brodericks-Imasuen (1985), Fanny Amun (1993), Yemi Tella (2007), Manu Garba (2013), and Emmanuel Amuneke (2015). Interestingly, the story of Nigeria’s victory in Rabat read like a beautifully crafted Nollywood-movie script. This was a team that nobody gave any chance of making it out of the group stage for obvious reasons. Nigeria’s senior and junior teams in the male and female categories have failed abysmally in continental and global competitions in recent years.

The Super Eagles failed to qualify for back-to-back World Cups in 2022 and 2026. The senior men’s team have had two near-attempts at the 2023 and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, claiming silver and bronze respectively. The Super Falcons also failed to make the cut for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup to be hosted by Brazil for the first time since the inaugural edition 35 years ago in China. There were countless other failures across all the national football teams, resulting in the mass resignation of the Ibrahim Gusau-led Nigeria Football Federation board from office. It was against this backdrop that little attention was paid to Coach Busari and his wards.

The girls also began their journey to the ultimate prize on a shaky ground, losing their first match to Poland. But the Nigerian spirit of not giving up even in the face of adversity became the guiding principle for the Flamingos. They rose stoutly from that setback to win their next six matches that followed to lift this prestigious trophy. They beat Puerto Rico 2-0, shocked defending champions North Korea 3-1 in the group stage, knocked out Mexico 2-1 in the Round of 16 before sending home Venezuela with 1-0 scoreline in the quarterfinal. Even FIFA President, Gianni Infantino and CAF President, Patrice Motsepe who watched the Nigerian girls go all the way to win the cup, applauded them. 

The lesson from the Flamingos is for our country to believe in the capacity of the indigenous coaches to deliver when properly empowered. Busari has again raised the question mark on why we as a nation keep spending money on foreign coaches that give little in return for the investments on them. But a careful plan must be made for these young women and their handlers that made this feat possible. Past experiences have shown that poorly executed incentives have left some of the history-makers in poverty. This must not be the case for these girls. Some of them are already bread winners for their families.

The administration of President Bola Tinubu has introduced monetary incentives for athletes and it must ensure that the Flamingos reap abundantly from their sweat like the Super Falcons and the D’Tigresses who were rewarded with 100,000 dollars each plus houses and national honours. This trophy must be properly celebrated and rewarded. Congratulations to our worthy ambassadors as our appreciative nation awaits their arrival from Morocco with the FIFA U17 World Cup trophy.