By Wale Mustapha
Former Nigeria midfielder Ngozi Okobi has thrown her support behind Nigeria’s national women’s team as they chase a historic 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title in Morocco.
The Super Falcons are set for a high-stakes semi-final clash against defending champions South Africa on Tuesday in Casablanca, as the tournament reaches its final stages.
Justin Madugu’s side booked their place in the last four with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Zambia’s Copper Queens, while Banyana Banyana needed a tense penalty shootout to edge past Senegal after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Okobi, a four-time WAFCON champion herself, expressed confidence in the current squad’s ability to go all the way.
“Mission X is so possible. We’ve got very good players right now who can get the job done,” the 31-year-old wrote on her X (formerly Twitter) account.
Nigeria and South Africa last met at WAFCON during the 2022 group stage, where the Falcons suffered a 2-1 defeat. However, their last semi-final meeting came in 2016, with Nigeria securing a narrow 1-0 win en route to lifting the title.
So far in Morocco, the Super Falcons have been in dominant form — scoring nine goals and yet to concede a single one.
A win on Tuesday would take Nigeria into the final and one step closer to reaffirming their dominance in African women’s football.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
