Hello and welcome to The Long Wave. On Sunday, depending on which hemisphere you live in, you are likely to have seen or heard about a squad of supremely talented women pulling off a remarkable comeback to bring home silverware to a proud country. Congrats to England’s triumphant Lionesses, who retained the Euros trophy.
But here, it’s all about Nigeria’s Super Falcons. I checked in with Eromo Egbejule, our west Africa correspondent, to talk about last weekend’s electric Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) final, which Nigeria won for the 10th time.
A nail-biting finale
Like all great matches, the final had the burden of heavy expectation bearing down on it. The stakes were greater than just claiming the trophy: for Morocco, it was about winning on home turf, in front of families and thousands of supporters. The squad, which seemed on the brink of another global tournament watershed after the men’s team reached the semi-final of the World Cup for the first time, were in pole position for most of the match. The Atlas Lionesses were winning 2-0 until the 64th minute before conceding three goals, the last one a devastating two minutes before the final whistle.
Despite the sense that Morocco’s moment had finally come, Nigeria’s Super Falcons raised the trophy again. It was their 10th from a total of 14 tournaments – a dominance, which had been interrupted three years ago by South Africa, providing ample motivation this time out. So intense is the rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa that Eromo says the Super Falcons’ victory over Banyana Banyana in the semi-final had “felt like the final”.
The reception in Nigeria was, of course, celebratory. People are “definitely, definitely happy”, Eromo says. “The Falcons have always been popular because they are very very dominant.” But a new element of this tournament has widened their appeal: social media. “A couple of players have been posting on Snapchat,” Eromo says, which has brought the team closer to a new generation of supporters. Of those players, Michelle Alozie, right back and also, remarkably, a cancer research technician, is such a prolific poster that she came under fire for her “unserious” habit. After Nigeria won, she uploaded a story from the pitch with the caption “now let me post in peace”. It was the first African tournament outing for Alozie and the MVP of the final, Esther Okoronkwo, both of whom have large social media followings.
What makes the Super Falcons so super?
Eromo ascribes Nigeria’s success to two factors. The first is simply a head start – Nigerian women’s football developed at an international level earlier than other African countries. And Nigeria, in general, was one of the early African movers. (I am of the generation that still remembers, with cinematic detail, the heartbreaking Italian goal that denied Nigeria a historic spot in the men’s World Cup quarter-finals in 1994.) The other factor is one that Eromo describes as a mental edge. “Nigerians thrive in chaos,” he suggests, half in jest and half with a sort of national pride, in reference to a playing style that bewilders and scatters the strategic plans of their opponents. The rest, he says, can be attributed to living in the diaspora: Nigerian players have acquired valuable experience while playing for teams in Europe and the US. Some of the Super Falcons form part, or have been part, of teams such as Paris FC, Barcelona and Houston Dash.
Winners – but not without challenge
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Despite the emphatic win, Eromo insists it was not business as usual. “During the first couple of games, Nigeria did all right – but then it was hard. You could tell that other teams were stepping up.” Indeed, Equatorial Guinea have won the trophy previously, as have South Africa, and then Morocco flew to the final, buoyed up by their home crowd. Now Nigeria’s dominance is no longer a sure thing and other African countries are making big investments in their teams and in women’s football in general. Eromo says Morocco, in particular, are developing quickly, thanks in part to a sports sector that pays players well at a local league level. And so it is among a trio of strong challengers to Nigeria.
Where there is football, there is politics
Eromo suggests the one factor curdling that “definite, definite” happiness is how some in Nigeria are a bit hesitant about the country’s president appropriating the win as good PR for his unpopular leadership. Bola Tinubu asked the Super Falcons to bring the trophy to Abuja so he could welcome them home – all of which seems “natural to do”, Eromo says. But it is seen as “the president trying to whitewash his performance”, which includes economic policies that have not trickled down. “More people are hungrier than ever, and the security situation is still in chaos. There’s a lot of state propaganda floating around. This is seen as another example of Tinubu trying to gain goodwill ahead of the next election.”
This is a moment that should belong to the Super Falcons and, in a wider sense, African women’s football. Every tournament introduces a new crop of talented players to the continent, and overshadows what are usually more dominant western competitions. I mention to Eromo that the Wafcon final took place within the same 24 hours as the Women’s Euro competition. “To be honest, I didn’t know the Euros final was even on until I started hearing about another Michelle,” he says. Not Alozie but Michelle Agyemang, the England forward of Ghanaian descent who was named young player of the tournament. The big week of women’s football was truly a global, diasporic affair.
