NIGERIA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Nigeria finds itself in the vanguard of female professional soccer in Africa

Record ID: 234835

  • Title: NIGERIA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Nigeria finds itself in the vanguard of female professional soccer in Africa
  • Date: 10th June 2010
  • Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SOCCER STADIUM VARIOUS OF UNDER-17 WOMEN'S TEAM GETTING OUT OF BUS SOCCER PLAYERS WALKING INTO THE STADIUM GRANDSTAND VARIOUS OF PLAYERS PUTTING ON SOCCER BOOTS PLAYERS IN SEATS, WITH PITCH IN BACKGROUND PETER DEDEVBO, HEAD COACH OF UNDER-17 WOMEN'S NATIONAL SIDE, ON PITCH TALKING WIDE OF DEDEVBO TALKING TO ASSISTANTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PETER DEDEVBO, HEAD COACH OF UNDER-17 WOMEN'S NATIONAL SIDE, SAYING "Nigeria has one of the best female leagues in Africa. Our league is so intense, the coaches are doing a great job there. This is toughing the players before eventually the players are being invited to the national team for more development." VARIOUS OF WOMEN'S UNDER-17 NATIONAL TEAM RUNNING VARIOUS OF UNDER-17 NATIONAL TEAM STRETCHING CLOSE-UP OF SUNDAY UCHECHI, SOCCER PLAYER, STRETCHING UCHECHI STRETCHING WITH TEAM-MATES (SOUNDBITE) (English) SUNDAY UCHECHI, UNDER-17 NIGERIAN WOMEN'S TEAM, SAYING "You will make so much money on this. After that you will see some outside, like Europe club, come and buy you, and it's that place that you will get a lot of money." WIDE OF TRAINING SESSION PLAYERS PASS BALLS DURING TRAINING EXERCISE VARIOUS OF GOALKEEPERS TAKING PART IN TRAINING EXERCISE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ULUCHI OFEOGBU, UNDER-17 NIGERIAN WOMEN'S TEAM CAPTAIN, SAYING "They say what a man can do, a woman can do it even better. And now I really want to prove them right. So that that thing they say, they will be able to know and say yes, women can still play football." VARIOUS OF UNDER-17 NATIONAL SIDE PRAYING
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAAZC33WF4RTOQSJJQUYF68IO7E
  • Story Text: Soccer fans around Africa are eagerly awaiting the World Cup, which begins in South Africa on Friday (June 11). It's the first time a country from the soccer crazy continent has hosted the event.
    Nigeria's national team, nicknamed the Super Eagles, will be representing their country at the tournament, so the local female soccer league is trying to capitalise on the attention that the game is currently attracting.
    Nigeria is one of the few African nations where becoming a professional woman soccer player is possible. As a result of the high quality of female players, Nigeria's national women's side wins the African Cup of Nations regularly.
    The country's under-17 junior squad, known as the Flamingos, recently earned their place at September's Under-17 World Cup, by beating South Africa over two matches. In the first game Nigeria won 5-0 in Abeokuta before losing 2-1 in the return match, although South Africa still qualified themselves by beating Tunisia.
    The preparation is intense for Nigeria's young female players who have been in training camp and out of school for almost four months, training once or twice a day.
    Peter Dedevbo is the side's head coach and says the quality of local leagues is the reason why he has so much talent to choose from.
    "Nigeria has one of the best female leagues in Africa. Our league is so intense, the coaches are doing a great job there. This is toughing the players before eventually the players are being invited to the national team for more development," he said.
    There are around 20 female Nigerians currently playing outside of the country, either at schools in the United States or playing professionally in Europe.
    That kind of record is helping young women like 16-year old Sunday Uchechi dream big. Uchechi says that if players work hard at their game they can "make so much money on it." She added: "After that you will see some outside, like Europe club, come and buy you. And it's that place that you will get a lot of money."
    Team captain Uluchi Ofeogbu says she hopes to prove to her male counterparts that women can be just as good at playing the so-called 'Beautiful Game'.
    She said: "They say what a man can do, a woman can do it even better. And now I really want to prove them right. So that that thing they say, they will be able to know and say yes, women can still play football."
    The Under-17's Women's World Cup takes place in Trinidad and Tobago between September 5-25, 2010. Nigeria are in Group A where they will face the host country, along with North Korea and Chile.
    Ghana and South Africa will also be flying the flag for Africa in the tournament.
    Although a few female Nigerian players have made their name in soccer, the reality remains that most have to turn elsewhere for a career at some point.
    All the same, it doesn't impede on these young women's dreams of finding fame and fortune in their beloved sport.
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