Appointment of female coaches order by FIFA: Matters Arising

BY HARRY AWURUMIBE                                                                                                                                                                                      Contrary to the erroneous belief that the recent order by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) requiring all teams in women’s football tournaments to include at least one female coach in the technical bench in a move aimed at boosting gender representation in the game could catch Nigeria football by surprise does not hold any water.

The reason being that the country’s football governing body, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had long before the recent FIFA order been implementing the policy by appointing female coaches into the technical team of the senior women’s football team Super Falcons, U-20 side Falconets and U-17 team Flamingos.

For example, Nigeria has appointed various women coaches as assistant and head coaches of the three national women’s teams in the past, notably coach Eucheria Ngozi Uche, who was the first female assistant coach of the Super Falcons and later the first female head coach of the team in 2010, when she became the first African female coach to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in South Africa.

To crown it all, coach Uche also led Nigeria to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Germany. She again made history as the first African female coach to lead a team at a FIFA World Cup finals, having previously led Nigeria to win the 2010 WAFCON.

Although Nigeria was eliminated in the group stage, finishing third in Group A with one win (1-0 against Canada) and two losses (0-1 against France and host Germany), the performance of her team was impressive and NFF under President Aminu Maigari and Barrister Musa Amadu as General Secretary retained her on the job.

But Uche lost her position in 2012 after she failed to qualify Nigeria for the London Olympics. She would have set another record of the first African female coach to take a team to the Olympic Games.

However, four years later the NFF during the reign of ex-President Amaju Melvin Pinnick appointed all female coaches headed by former captain Florence Florence Toritseju Omagbemi to lead the Super Falcons to the 2016 WAFCON in Cameroon.

With assistants Ann Agumanu-Chiejine and Perpetua Ijeoma Nkwocha, Omagbemi also won WAFCON title in 2016, becoming the first African female coach to win the competition as a player, skipper and coach.

Prior to the emergence of female coaches like Uche, Omagbemi, Chiejine, Nkwocha to handle the Super Falcons, late coach Joy Nnenna Etim was a pioneering assistant coach for the senior women’s team of Nigeria, notably being active in the role around 2003, when she prepared Super Falcons for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in USA with coach Samuel Okpodu and later moved to Super Falcons Team B to work with late coach Ismaila Mabo to win Gold medal for Nigeria at the 8th All Africa Games (COJA 2003) hosted by Nigeria

She was a respected figure who worked with the national team technical crew and was considered Nigeria’s first female football coach after being picked to work with late ex-NFF Technical Director, Paul Ebiye Hamilton in his NFF Youth Football Academy in Lagos.

It’s worthy of note that from the early 2000s to the present, successive NFF leadership, especially during the regime of President Ibrahim Musa Gusau and Dr. Muhammed Sanusi as the General, have prioritised inclusivity and made it mandatory for each of the three national women’s teams to have a least one female coach and all female backroom staff.

For example, the Super Falcons have one female assistant coach, and all female medical team, team administrator, kits manager, etc. Only the head coach Justin Madugu and goalkeepers trainer Auwal Makwalla are male in the senior women’s team at the present.

The situation is the same with the Falconets (U-20) and Flamingos (U-17) women’s teams set up as fewer male coaches are appointed to lead the teams. Like in the Super Falcons, team administrator, medical crew, equipment managers and others are female.

Therefore, the recent FIFA order that women’s teams of member associations must include at least one female head coach or assistant coach in their technical crew, do not affect Nigeria as she has been implementing the new law for nearly two decades.

It goes to show that Nigeria is not only a leader in African women’s football only on the field of play but a force to be reckoned with in the administrative side of the beautiful game in the continent and globally too.

The new legislation was approved at the FIFA Council meeting last week Thursday. The measure takes immediate effect in all FIFA competitions holding this year, including the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, and the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, and next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

According to FIFA, the decision is aimed at ensuring that the representation of women in technical and leadership roles keeps pace with the rapid growth of the women’s game.

The world football governing body decried the presence of only 12 female coaches among the 32 nations at the 2023 women’s World Cup, and only one remained after the round of 16.

FIFA added that, aside from the inclusion of one female head or assistant coach, at least two other female staff members must be on the bench for each team.

Since 2021, FIFA has supported 795 female coaches across 73 Member Associations through its coach education scholarship programme, enabling them to access advanced qualifications and professional opportunities,” FIFA said.

“Additional investment is being made through the legacy programme linked to the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026, whereby clubs in the Women’s Super League 1 and 2 were provided with coaching scholarships for women to obtain their UEFA Pro or A Licence.”

Reacting to the decision, Jill Ellis, FIFA’s Chief Football Officer, bemoaned the low number of female coaches for female teams, and stressed the need for more.

“There are simply not enough women in coaching today.

“We must do more to accelerate change by creating clearer pathways, expanding opportunities, and increasing the visibility for women on our sidelines.”

Harry Awurumibe is a women’s football aficionado