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‘Sheroes Cup, good prep for NWFL Premiership’ – Naija Ratels’ Bankole Olowookere
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Head coach of Naija Ratels, Bankole Olowookere is proud of the performance and menatality of his players after guiding his side to their first ever Sheroes Cup final appearance before bowing 1-0 to Edo Queens on Friday.
A first half goal from Emem Essien was all the Benin Arsenals required to silence their Abuja-based hosts in the final match of the 2023 Sheroes Cup at the Aguiyi Ironzi Cantonment pitch in Abuja.
Despite the disappointing final loss, Olowookere insists that the pre-season tournament was a perfect preparation ahead of the 2023/2024 NWFL Premiership season slated to kick off on November 15.
“Honestly I am kind of an adventurous coach. It’s part of my adventurous program,” Olowookere told NigeriaFootball.ng
“If I had won this game and the trophy, it would have been a plus to me but it wasn’t too bad. Standing tall alongside Edo Queens I think it is something for me in the league. It’s a preparation and pre-season.
“Whatever we are doing now will judge how the season will be. I believe it is will part of the preparation. We have seen one or two areas of loopholes and we will try to map out some strategies to perfect it so that we will have a better season this time around.
“The Sheroes Cup was a wonderful one. We were able to express every player we brought into the tournament. Edo Queens also did the same. We played all the players that we brought into the tournament. That is one of the reasons for the pre-season so that we will see the materials that we want to use for the league.
“In the league, we can change three or five players but here we can change as many players as possible. It was a good preparation for us as we are hoping for a better season as we look forward to a better team that can represent Nigeria well at the continental level.”
Olowookere who guided the Nigerian U-17 women’s national team to their best finish of third place at the 2022 FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup also applauded the style of play exhibited by the finalists.
“Explosive football. No team was hidden somewhere with what we played today,” he continued.
“Every team came out to play football and expressed themselves. There was no dull moment. If we can do this in the league, we will have more sponsorship because that’s my area. We want to entertain people so that spectators will come out to watch beautiful women’s football.
:It is also going to be a good advantage for us at the national team level. By the time we play this kind of game during the season and they come to the national team, it gives coaches little work to be done and not starting all over again. I think it was a plus all over.” He concluded.
The team will continue their preparation with another pre-season campaign in the Betsy Obaseki Women’s Football Tournament later this month ahead of the season opener in November.
