The cadet teams of Nigeria and Germany literally set the social media on the boil at the recent FIFA U-17 Women’s World in India when they rollicked to Kizz Daniel’s Cough (Odo) lyric. NFF official, Ruth David, who tweeted the video, shares insight on how a fun party eventually became a hit on the social media space on the internet, Olawale Ajimotokan reports.
Nigeria and Germany enchanted the rest of the world in a flick that went viral penultimate week. In that video shot at Fortune Hotel, Navi Mumba, India, these teenagers were seen rollicking to Cough (Odo),the latest number by Afro-beat singer, Kizz Daniel. It didn’t matter neither of the two teams emerged champions of the tournament. True spirit of friendship was on display by these kids from Germany and Nigeria.
The party after the third place match at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India was so delightful that it became a staple on the social media.
It trended and got several hits on many platforms, a cushioning relief for Nigeria often the poster nation for negative narratives.
It was viewed over 37,000 times on Twitter in just a couple of days and also received over 10,800 comments barely two days after it was posted.
The video was shot on October 30, barely few hours after Nigeria, coached by Bankole Olowookere, defeated Germany 3-2 via a pulsating penalty shootouts in the third place match in Navi Mumbai, India.
It was the first bronze medal to be won by Nigeria at the U17 category of FIFA women’s football.
The players had just relished their dinner and were on their way to their rooms, when they were approached by the Germans, whose primary mission was to exchange jerseys with the Nigerians.
From that moment, the pleasantry translated into celebration that dovetailed into the wee hours of the following day and reinforced the notion that football is indeed a powerful platform that unites people of different cultural backgrounds.
Not all the Nigerian players, known as the Flamingos, appeared in the video.
Those that were prominent included Nigeria’s star performer, Opeyemi Ajakaiye, who scoped three-Player of the Match awards at the tournament. Others were the team Captain, Alvine Dah-Zossu and Omowunmi Bello.
But it was Tumininu Adeshina and the Captain of the German team, Lilith Schmidt, who instantly enlivened the video with their swags and burst of energy.
The two players literally danced with their hearts and soul and brought out the best in Kizz Daniel’s contemporary number. They danced as if they rehearsed for the party.
Some of the Germans were accompanied by their officials and parents and they partied until late in the night.
Incidentally the mysterious face behind the video was the leader of the Nigerian delegation and the Acting Director of Competitions Department, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ruth David.
She and the NFF Technical Officer, Rafiu Yusuf, were with the team in Turkey from where they moved to India for the tournament proper. They were later joined by the General Secretary, Dr Sanusi Mohammed and the newly elected federation President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau.
In a chat with THISDAY, David said she wittingly tweeted the video to project the message that football is capable of bringing people together irrespective of race and other persuasions.
David, who once headed the NFF Women’s Department, expressed surprise by the several hits the post made to highlight the fun side the teenagers had generated.
She admitted the Germans were also being introduced to the track for the first time and were put through the dance routine by the Nigerian girls that night.
“To be honest, we were just having fun. The Germans approached us that they needed our jerseys. After we exchanged the jerseys, the players started conversing in groups about the tournament. Before you knew what was happening, they started playing music and it was just fun that led to dancing,” David recalled.
She admitted that the first video that was initially recorded was haphazardly done, prompting them to start all-over by selecting the song which incidentally was the latest track by Kizz Daniel.
The effort surpassed expectations as the video eventually generated a lot of hits and accolades when it was tweeted.
David said she was well aware that the track was trending because after Nigeria defeated New Zealand 4-0 in Goa in their second Group B fixture the players executed same dancing on the pitch and was obvious they loved that track.
The senior NFF officer expressed delight that the reactions that have trailed the video were reminiscent of what football represents as a game that brings people together.
“Those Germans have a beautiful soul. From the beginning they were just interested in having our jerseys. When we got to the semi-final, they congratulated us. They were supporting us because we were in the same group. So they came to us asking to swap jerseys. We assured them that we would exchange jerseys at the end of the tournament.
“Immediately after the tournament some of them came to our restaurant when we were having dinner and were pleading they wanted to exchange the jerseys. So the moment they got the jerseys they were excited. Because their officers also came they started to exchange with their officers,” David noted.
She added that the pure passion of swapping shirts with the Nigerians coupled with the fact that their parents accompanied them created the atmosphere for the unpremeditated party that followed.
“It started like fun. When I saw what was going I felt that I needed to let the world know that football is a tool that has no barrier although we defeated them and they congratulated us. The winner is football and that was why I posted the video to let the world see”.
Beyond the potent of football to profess unity and friendship, David echoed bliss seeing how the social media has been used to mirror Nigeria’s Afrobeat to the rest of the world beyond the usual stereotype of misinformation and hate speech often spread on line.
