Ex-Falcons gaffer, Mabo thumbs down team’s performance in France, hail NFF

Harry Awurumibe

Former Super Falcons Head Coach, Alhaji Ismaila Mabo has described the Round of 16 exit of Nigeria in the just concluded 8^th FIFA Women’s World Cup final in France as a big failure against the backdrop of the adequate preparations given to the team by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) ahead of the competition.

In an exclusive chat today from his base in Jos, Plateau state, the 75-year old veteran coach who celebrated his birthday in Jos City yesterday expressed his dissatisfaction over the overall performance of the Super Falcons at the last Women’s World Cup final in France.1According to him, “as a former coach of the team and a patriotic Nigerian it pained me that Nigeria crashed out at the Round of 16 in France. I was optimistic prior to the start of the competition in France that Nigeria will go further than the team achieved at USA 1991final going by the adequate preparations the Nigeria football leadership gave the team”.

Mabo who was assistant to the pioneer Falcons Chief Coach, late Paul Hamilton and later became the substantive Head Coach from 1995 to 2003 during which he took Nigeria to the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter final in 1991 in USA, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and winning 3 Africa Women Championship (AWC) and 1 All Africa Games (COJA 2003) argued that the Class of 2019 Super Falcons were adequately motivated to go a step higher than the previous squads but failed to perform creditably in France.

“For once I give it to the NFF for going extra miles to meet the requirements of the team to the last Women’s World Cup in France. I am aware that the team handlers got everything they request to make a lasting impression in the global competition as the federation ensured that the team played Grade A international friendly matches, attended Invitational tournaments in China, Spain and camped at world class Avita Resort in Austria before landing in France.

It’s really sad that after all these pre-competition preparations the team only won one match and lost three on the bounce”, Mabo lamented.

He therefore appealed to the NFF to take a critical look at the development of women’s football in Nigeria, arguing that the game is suffering at the grass root which is the supply chain of the national players and called for the involvement of those who have the interest of the game to join forces with it to move women’s football forward.

Mabo, a former senior national team, Green Eagles forward said he will be glad to offer suggestions and strategies alongside other women’s football stakeholders to ensure that Super Falcons perform better at the global stage than being perennial African Champions.