Sir: In the next one month (July 20 to August 20), world attention will be focused on the amazing footballing skills of young women from 32 countries as they battle each other in a physically bruising and nerve-racking contest for the highest and most prestigious prize in women football, the FIFA Women World Cup Championship trophy in faraway Australia and New Zealand. It promises to be an emotional rollercoaster of joy, sadness, tears of defeat, wild and crazy celebrations of victory, requiring everyone to tighten the seat belt before we take the plunge into the razzmatazz of football extravaganza in the Down Under.
Women football has indeed come of age as a professional sporting activity boasting a good measure of technical quality comparable to their male editions in every department of the game which has spawned huge followership of soccer faithfuls round the world and making it one of the fastest growing football fan base in the history of the game. Women football is no longer an appendage of the male version of the global sport but has arrived the world stage as her own brand having grown into a major global tournament with iconic players and elite teams. The viewing audience said to be in the region of millions of adoring fans across the globe are all fired up with ecstatic support for their respective national teams.
FIFA, ever willing to indulge the global appetite for the beautiful game has steadily expanded the female football sport to the level where it is rapidly chasing the flagship of FIFA tournaments ,”The World Cup” played by men as a major source of revenue for the federation through the issuance of broadcast rights, commercial advertising, sponsorships and branding.
The tournament is a welcome respite and relief for a global community racked by a myriad of crisis ranging from the tragic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the economic meltdown arising from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on the world economy which has seen most countries suffer the economic hardship of unprecedented increase in the cost of living.
As we look forward to the exciting days of the games, those national teams like the Super Falcons of Nigeria that are among the final 32 teams that made it to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand must count themselves worthy ambassadors of their respective nations and strive to give their best in the competition given the high hopes and expectations of the home country.
In spite of the fact that our preparations for the tournament has been dogged by controversy with allegations of patchiness in key areas of funding, training, belated call ups and selection of the final team, we are good to go. These pre- tournament crises which are almost becoming a regular feature in our football management must not be allowed to overshadow the fact that our women have not let us down like our men folk did when they failed to qualify for their own male edition in Qatar last year by losing to Ghana in their last match in Abuja.
Across other sporting events, our women have shown incredible ability in endurance, winning mentality, physical exertion and technical skill able to match the best in other climes and stand a good chance of coming out tops in any contest. The Super Falcons must know they have all it takes to win the big prize and remain unflustered by the hyped quality of any opposition as they start their campaign against Canada July 21.
Though we have our share of the enormous challenges, the nation needs to rally support for our women in Australia and New Zealand in the hope that we can provide the country something to cheer in the midst of the apparent gloom beclouding the country today.
Though the difference in time zones makes it a tough choice to follow the game live as the matches will be played in the wee hours of Nigerian time, the nation need to find some way to connect with our women in their quest for glory in female football. Come On Super Falcons!
- Ejimofor Boni Agbachi, Abuja.