The pioneer coach of Nigerian national women football team – the Super Falcons, Ismaila Mabo, says that the only way to develop the team and the women league in the country is to encourage the indigenous coaches with the responsibility of tinkering all the women national teams.
“After qualifying and playing in all but one of the previous FIFA Women’s World Cups with Nigerian coaches, the NFF cannot just be thinking of another foreign coach for Super Falcons again. The only one we tried did not do better than the previous coaches, so why hire an expatriate again?,” Mabo who led the Nigerian team to the quarterfinals of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup told Completesports.com.
“I am urging the powers that be at the NFF to jettison the idea of a foreign coach for our women national teams. We have quality and proven coaches in our domestic leagues who can do the jobs. They should let our coaches to get the experience and exposures to get better.
Ismaila Mabo
“We have coaches whose clubs have dominated the domestic cups and the league over the years as well ex-international players who are making forays as coaches in women football. These coaches should be given the chance to develop themselves and the Super Falcons. Our last experience with a foreign coach [a Swede, Thomas Dennerby] was flawed as the man abandoned the Falcons without notice.
Also Read: NFF Should Fire Rohr If He Fails To Win AFCON 2021 –Mabo
Mabo continued: “Our ex-international women have also delivered when given the chance and I want to plead that if they are not given the Head coach’s job, they should get the assistant. I admire the Rivers Angels and Bayelsa Queens coaches. They are doing well like Ann [Chiejine] and Eucharia [Uche] are also faring well.”
The former Mighty Jets FC of Jos Ace also urged NFF to save money for the country by hiring a local coach who knows the Nigerian footballers better and can get the best from the players.
By Richard Jideaka, Abuja
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COMMENTS
I agree with the Coach Mabo on this though
Oga Ismaila Mabo spoke well.
But if I must add.
The Super Falcon as a national team has for a long while exceeded the coaching and managerial ability of a domestic coach!!!!
My point is clear.
Enjoy the gist….
The Super Falcons last match at the 2019 World cup tournament was the third group match on the 17 June 2019 versus the host nation, France which ended by a lone goal defeat to our heroines!!!
That is more than a year from today!!!
Bellow is the team that put up that solid performance against the French side;
GK – Cynthia Nnadozie (Paris FC, France)
DFs – Chidinma Okeke (Madrid CFF, Spain); Osinachi Ohale (Club Deportivo Tacó, Spain); Onome Ebi (Henan Huishang, China); Ngozi Ebere (Arna-Bjørnar, Sweden).
MFs – Halimatu Ayinde (Eskilstuna United DFF, Sweden); Rita Chikwelu (Madrid CFF, Spain); Ngozi Okobi (Eskilstuna United DFF, Sweden).
FWs – Francisca Ordega (Shanghai WFC, China); Desire Oparanozie (Guingamp, France); Asisat Oshoala (FC Barcelona, Spain)
SUBS – Evelyn Nwabuoku (Guingamp, France); Uchenna Kanu (Sevilla FC, Spain); Anam Imo (FC Rosengård, Sweden)
Our coach was the Swedish, Thomas Dennerby.
Prior to this third match in the group, our ladies have lost the first match by 3 unreplied goals to Norway (8th of June) and defeated South Korea by 2 goals (12th of June) respectively.
However, on the 17th of June against the host nation, our ladies were holding their own against the ladies from France on the field…Until when the “stakeholders” decided it was time to do their “planned scripted thing” on our girls… we all know how it goes….Ngozi Ebere was red carded on the 75th minutes and France win came via an awarded penalty which was converted at the 79th minute.
I hope we all know exactly how the penalty was scored after it was taken twice by Wéndèleine Thérèse Renard!!!
Fast forward to Oga Ismaila Mabo interview above….and, I will strongly approve for a foreign Expatriate and Head Technical coach for our Super Falcons.
My decision is easy…. Look at the respective club sides our ladies ply their trade now…. They are all based abroad and playing actively in the leagues in Sweden, Norway, Spain, France, China etc
Our Ladies national side (The Super Falcons) are very much like the Male counterparts, The Super Eagles.
There is not a single player in the Super Falcons that stars in the domestic league anymore. The ladies have worked their way and career to a higher level and currently match shoulders with the best female players around the world while playing for clubs in the best female league in the world!!!
Why can’t we give this collection of ladies in our national team the best handlers in the world to move our Super Falcons from being an Africa champ to a World champ.?!!!
We all saw what a domestic coach did to our ladies during the Olympics qualifiers.
How can one explain that a dominate Nigeria female soccer team who always clinch the crown as African champions in the various biennial CAF female soccer Tournaments can’t participate in the upcoming Olympics in female soccer schedule for July 2021???
And that is THREE OLYMPICS IN A ROW now!!!!
Zambia qualified and Cameroun might follow…. And yet, an African heavyweight in Nigeria who parades a team with such a deadly striker in Oshoala crashed out in the run for a spot!
Someone should call up the coach that lead those girls during the qualifiers for a detailed report and explanation and let’s know where it went wrong!!!
Ismaila Mabo has made his opinion based on what he thinks and how his mindset works for him and his beliefs.
However, as a good Head coach of the Female national team in 1999–2002 and a brief spell in 2004, He must remember that majority of his players back then were plying their trades in the domestic leagues and the female club sides back then were very good.
A team like Pelican Stars, based in Calabar, Cross River State will comfortably defeat some top African female national soccer team in the early 2000s
Female soccer started early in Nigeria and that gave our girls an edge in the Continent.
However, we couldn’t do better in international duties.
Now most of our ladies are playing abroad, so why can’t we get a well-grounded global tactician for them?!!!
Why should a domestic league coach handle a brand such as The Super Falcons with their current array of talented players?!
Why can’t The Super Falcons have a coach like Vlatko Andonovski, Corinne Catherine Diacre, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Sarina Wiegman or Peter Gerhardsson?
I will agree with Ismaila Mabo suggestion for the appointment of good domestic coaches for female teams BUT IT MUST BE FOR the female age-grades national teams such as The “Flamingoes” (U-17) and The “Falconets” (U-20) respectively.
As for the Olympic female national side and The All African games Female national side, The Coaching team of Super Falcons should also take charge.
It must be the same standards set by the Super Eagles coaching crew when it comes to handling The CHAN national side.
NFF should also try and attract most of our female ex-internationals who are into good coaching programs (especially those based abroad) to come and assist the domestic coaches with age-grade teams. The likes of Florence Omagbemi, Mercy Akide Udoh, Perpetua Ijeoma Nkwocha, Uche Eucharia, Ann Chinyere; Precious Dede etc.
If we don’t work up our standards and policy in the handling of our Female national teams, other African nations will double up their efforts and even wrestle the continental glory from us.
The South Africas, Ghanians, Equatorial Guineas, Camerouns, Zimbabwe, etc are breathing on our neck!!!
So, my question is; “Why can’t we get a creditable foreign coach for our Ladies to take the brand to another level…just like we have done for the men national team?”
We should not forget that our ladies have even delivered more national glories and honours to us when compared with the Guys!!!
REMEMBER …….”What’s good for the goose; is good for the gander !!!”…
Stay safe and God bless!