Nigeria Women
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[2] Wikipedia - Nigeria women's national football team
The Nigeria women's national football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, represents Nigeria in international women's football and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The team is Africa's most successful international women's football team, having won a record eleven Women's Africa Cup of Nations titles; their most recent title in 2018, after defeating South Africa in the final. The team is also the only women's national team from the Confederation of African Football to have reached the quarterfinals in both the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Summer Olympics.
They are also one of the few teams in the world and only African team to have qualified for every edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, with their best performance at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup where they reached the quarterfinals.
History
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They won the first seven African championships, and through their first 20 years lost only five games to African competition: 12 December 2002 to Ghana in Warri, 3 June 2007 at Algeria, 12 August 2007 to Ghana in an Olympic qualifier, 25 November 2008 at Equatorial Guinea in the semis of the 2008 Women's African Football Championship and May 2011 at Ghana in an All Africa Games qualification match.
The Super Falcons have been able to dominate beyond Africa in such arenas as the FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games however. The team has been to every World Cup since 1991, but managed just once to finish in the top two. In 2003, the Super Falcons turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the first round, failing to score a single goal and losing all three Group A matches. They did little better in 2007, drawing only one of their Group B matches. However, they faced the group of death in both 2003 and 2007, grouped both times with rising Asian power North Korea, traditional European power Sweden, and a historic women's superpower in the USA.
Nigeria hosted the African women's championship finals for the third time in 2001 which were then canceled due to a severe outbreak of gang induced violence within the Nigerian area, replacing Gabon, which was initially granted the right to host but later pulled out citing financial difficulties, and won it for the seventh time in a row. Nigeria's Super Falcons and Ghana's Black Queens represented Africa in China for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The "Falconets" are the country's junior team (U-20), which performed creditably in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship held in Russia when they beat Finland 8–0 before they were sent packing by Brazil in the Quarter-finals. They were the runner-up to Germany at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Nigeria also played in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup held in Canada and lost to Germany in the finals 0–1, Asisat Oshoala got both the golden ball and golden boot.
The "Flamingoes" are the country's cadet team (U-17), which qualified for the inaugural women's U-17 World Cup New Zealand 2008. Nigeria qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup where they were placed in Group A with South Korea, Norway and hosts France.
Labour disputes
The Super Falcons have engaged in multiple disputes with the NFF over back pay, unpaid bonuses and bonus amounts, tournament preparation, and facilities, including sit-in protests, training boycotts, or threats to boycott matches in 2004, 2007, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2023.
The team has won the Africa Women Cup of Nations a record 11 times, showcasing their dominance in African women's soccer. They have also qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup multiple times and have made it to the knockout stages on several occasions.
Known for their skillful and dynamic style of play, the Nigeria Women's team is a force to be reckoned with on the field. They have produced some talented players who have gone on to play for top clubs around the world.
Off the field, the team is also known for their resilience and determination, overcoming challenges and obstacles to achieve success. They are an inspiration to young girls in Nigeria and across Africa, showing that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.
Overall, the Nigeria Women's national soccer team is a respected and formidable team in women's soccer, with a rich history of success and a bright future ahead.