No one can stop us in Africa, says Eucharia Uche

By Ifeanyi Ibeh


November 17, 2010 10:42AM



Nigeria’s Super Falcons will continue to dominate women’s football in Africa for years to come according to the team’s coach, Eucharia Uche.

The Super Falcons last weekend in South Africa won the 7th edition of the African Women’s Championship (AWC) after defeating Equatorial Guinea 4-2 in the final. It was the sixth time the Falcons will be winning the tournament.

The victory over the defending champions was especially sweet after the semi final loss suffered at the hands of the Central African nation at the 6th edition of the AWC in 2008. This year’s win follows earlier successes in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 by the Falcons.

The Super Falcons dominated the championship in South Africa; sweeping all the individual and team awards at the end of the championship including the awards for the leading scorer and the tournament’s most valuable player. The team also scored 19 goals and conceded just four in five matches.

Growing competition

In years past, Ghana was considered the biggest threat to Nigeria’s dominance of women’s football in Africa. That was until the emergence of the likes of Cameroon, South Africa and most recently the Nzalang Nacional of Equatorial Guinea, who ended Nigeria’s total dominance of the AWC two years ago.

Most followers of women’s football in Africa consider the 2008 champions as the biggest threat to the Super Falcons’ dominance on the continent but Uche, still fresh from leading the team to victory in South Africa, does not see it that way.

“I don’t think they are the biggest threat but I must commend them for winning the cup two years ago and for trying to defend it even up to the finals,” said Uche, who also took a swipe at the Equatoguineans over unproved allegations that they fielded male players in their squad.

“Even though there were allegations that they fielded men in their team I still commend them for giving us a good fight, but we always had an edge over them.”

Gender controversy

In 2008, the Nzalang Nacional were accused of fielding players suspected to be males on their way to winning the AWC title as host nation. The Simpore sisters, Bilguisa and Salimata, were at the centre of the controversy but no one, especially the Nigerians who felt most aggrieved, was able to prove that they were not women.

Both players were also at the just concluded AWC and Uche explained how she was able to get her team to focus on beating the former champions who also had four Brazilians, two Nigerians and a Spaniard in their starting-11 against the Super Falcons.

“We played them two years ago and we made up our minds that we were going to beat them this time around,” recalled Uche.

“We had that in mind and we talked to one another about their two controversial players.

“One was injured and didn’t get to play much during the tournament,” said Uche regarding the older of the Simpore sisters, Bilguisa, a defender who was injured all through the AWC and only got to play a bit-part role in the final.

“So we made up our mind to hold the one that plays in the attack (Salimata) which we did because we had many fast defenders.”