Nigeria women's national football team
Women's national football team representing Nigeria
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The Nigeria women's national football team,[a] 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 ten Women's Africa Cup of Nations titles;[3] their most recent title in 2025, after defeating Morocco 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.
| |||
| Nickname | Super Falcons | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Sub-confederation | WAFU (West Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Justine Madugu | ||
| Captain | Rasheedat Ajibade | ||
| Most caps | Onome Ebi (109) | ||
| Top scorer | Perpetua Nkwocha (80)[1] | ||
| FIFA code | NGA | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 37  1 (11 December 2025)[2] | ||
| Highest | 23 (July – August 2003; August 2004; March 2005) | ||
| Lowest | 46 (August 2022) | ||
| First international | |||
 Nigeria 5–1 Ghana  (Nigeria; 16 February 1991) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Nigeria 15–0 Niger  (Ivory Coast; 11 May 2019) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Norway 8–0 Nigeria (Karlstad, Sweden; 6 June 1995)  Germany 8–0 Nigeria (Leverkusen, Germany; 25 November 2010)  France 8–0 Nigeria (Le Mans, France; 6 April 2018) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 9 (first in 1991) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (1999) | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2000) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (2004) | ||
| Women's Africa Cup of Nations | |||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1998) | ||
| Best result | Champions (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2024) | ||
| WAFU Zone B Women's Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2018) | ||
| Best result | Champions (2019) | ||
Medal record | |||
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
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.
_(cropped).jpg)
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 consistently clashed with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over back pay, unpaid bonuses, daily allowances, and poor facilities. These disputes have resulted in sit‑in protests, training boycotts, or threats to boycott several key tournaments:
- 2004 – Following their WAFCON victory in Johannesburg, players staged a three-day sit-in at their hotel over unpaid bonuses. President Olusegun Obasanjo intervened and paid ₦1 million to each player.[4][5]
- 2007 – At the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the team boycotted training over unpaid back pay after their group match against Sweden. The dispute was resolved ahead of their final group match against the United States.[6]
- 2016 – After winning AWCON, players refused to leave their hotel for 13 days and marched to the National Assembly demanding unpaid bonuses (~US$23,650 per player).[7]
- 2019 – After their World Cup exit in France, players staged a sit-in protest in their hotel over unpaid bonuses and allowances.[8][9]
Team image
Nicknames
The Nigeria women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Super Falcons".
FIFA world rankings
- As of 9 June 2023[15]
Worst Ranking Best Ranking Worst Mover Best Mover
| Nigeria's FIFA world rankings | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Year | Matches played |
Won | Lost | Drawn | Best | Worst | ||||
| Rank | Move | Rank | Move | ||||||||
| 41 | 2021 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 37 |  0 |
41 | 1 | ||
| 45 | 2022 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 39 | 2 |
46 | 5 | ||
| 40 | 2023 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 1 |
45 | 1 | ||
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
- Legend
Win Draw Lose Fixture
2025
| 3 June Friendly | Nigeria | 2−0 |  Cameroon | Abeokuta, Nigeria |
| 16:00 UTC+1 | Ajibade  28' (pen.), 43' |
Report | Stadium: MKO Abiola Stadium |
| 23 June Friendly | Portugal  | 0−0 | Nigeria | Amadora, Portugal |
| 19:00 UTC+1 | Report | Demehin  76' |
Stadium: Estádio José Gomes Referee: Ainara Acevedo (Spain) Player of the Match: Beatriz Fonseca (Portugal) |
| 29 June Friendly | Ghana | 1−3 | Nigeria | Mohammedia, Morocco |
| 17:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Ziaida Sports Complex |
| 6 July CAF WAFCON 2024 GS | Nigeria | 3−0 |  Tunisia | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 17:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Suavis Iratunga (Burundi) |
| 10 July CAF WAFCON 2024 GS | Botswana  | 0−1 | Nigeria | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 20:00 UTC+1 | Report |
|
Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Aline Umutoni (Rwanda) |
| 13 July CAF WAFCON 2024 GS | Nigeria | 0−0 |  Algeria | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 20:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Antsino Twanyanyukwa (Namibia) |
| 18 July CAF WAFCON 2024 QF | Nigeria | 5–0 |  Zambia | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 18:00 | Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco) |
| 22 July CAF WAFCON 2024 SF | Nigeria | 2–1 |  South Africa | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 18:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Shamirah Nabadda (Uganda) |
| 26 July CAF WAFCON 2024 Final | Morocco  | 2–3 | Nigeria | Rabat, Morocco |
| 21:00 | Report | Stadium: Olympic Stadium Referee: Antsino Twanyanyukwa (Namibia) |
| 24 October 2025 CAF WAFCON 2026 qualifying | Benin  | 0–2 | Nigeria | Lomé (Togo) |
| 15:00 UTC+1 | Report (FIFA) | Stadium: Stade de Kégué Referee: Fatou Ngum (Gambia)[16] |
| 28 October 2025 CAF WAFCON 2026 qualifying | Nigeria | 1–1 | Benin | Abeokuta |
| 16:00 UTC+1 |
|
Report (FIFA) |
|
Stadium: MKO Abiola Stadium Referee: Dominique Hanjavola (Madagascar) |
| Note: Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate. | ||||
2026
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
On 11 July 2023, the coaching squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was released by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).[17]
- As of 13 December 2023
| Name | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
 Randy Waldrum |
Head coach | |
| Ben Waldrum |
Associate Head coach | |
| Jesse Goleman |
Assistant coaches | |
| Lauren Gregg |
||
| Makwualla Auwal Bashir |
Goalkeeping coach |
Manager history
| Name | Start date | End date | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jo Bonfrere |
managed Nigeria at 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, concurrently with the men's national team of Nigeria.[18] | |||
| Paul Hamilton |
regarded as the first coach of the women national team; managed Nigeria at 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup[19][20] | |||
| Ismaila Mabo |
managed Nigeria to quarter finals at 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, thus regarded as the most successful coach;[21][22] led Nigeria to 2000 Olympics and 2004 Olympics | |||
| Samuel Okpodu |
2002 | managed Nigeria at 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup | ||
| Godwin Izilien | managed Nigeria to win 2004 African Women's Championship[23] | |||
| Ntiero Effiom |
managed Nigeria at 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup; led Nigeria to win 2003 All-Africa Games[24] | |||
| Joseph Ladipo |
managed Nigeria at 2008 Olympics; led Nigeria to win 2007 All-Africa Games;[25] managed Nigeria to third-place finish at 2008 African Women's Championship[26][27] | |||
| Uche Eucharia |
October 2011 | managed Nigeria to win 2010 African Women's Championship; managed Nigeria at 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup | [28] | |
| Kadiri Ikhana |
April 2012 | November 2012 | led Nigeria to fourth place at 2012 African Women's Championship | [29] |
| Edwin Okon |
June 2015 | managed Nigeria to win 2014 African Women's Championship; managed Nigeria at 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup | [30] | |
| Christopher Danjuma |
September 2015 | led Nigeria to fourth place at 2015 All-Africa Games | [31] | |
| Florence Omagbemi |
February 2016 | December 2016 | led Nigeria to win 2016 Women's Africa Cup of Nations | [32][33] |
 Thomas Dennerby |
January 2018 | October 2019 | led Nigeria to win at 2019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup | [34][35][36] |
| Randy Waldrum |
2020 | October 2023 | [37][38] | |
| Justine Madugu |
November 2023 | November 2023 | Interim Coach | |
| Randy Waldrum |
November 2023 | September 2024 | ||
| Justine Madugu |
September 2024 | led Nigeria to win 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations | ||
Players
Current squad
The following 25 players were called up for the Friendly matches against Cameroon on 28 February and 3 March 2026.
Caps and goals are current as of March 4, 2026, after matches against Cameroon.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Chiamaka Nnadozie | 8 December 2000 | 48 | 0 |  Brighton & Hove Albion | |
| GK | Anderline Mgbechi | 30 November 2005 | 1 | 0 | Delta Queens | |
| GK | Comfort Erhabor | 26 April 2005 | 1 | 0 | Portsmouth | |
| GK | Oloko Fatima | 2 February 2008 | 0 | 0 | Abia Angels | |
| DF | Osinachi Ohale | 21 December 1991 | 82 | 4 |  CF Pachuca | |
| DF | Michelle Alozie | 28 April 1997 | 46 | 3 | Houston Dash | |
| DF | Oluwatosin Demehin | 13 March 2002 | 31 | 1 |  Galatasaray SK | |
| DF | Ashleigh Plumptre | 8 May 1998 | 27 | 1 |  Al-Ittihad | |
| DF | Christy Ucheibe | 25 December 2000 | 27 | 1 | Benfica | |
| DF | Glory Ogbonna | 25 December 1998 | 17 | 0 |  F.C. Kiryat Gat | |
| DF | Chidinma Okeke | 11 August 2000 | 13 | 0 | Club América | |
| DF | Sikiratu Isa | 10 July 1997 | 10 | 0 | Bnot Netanya | |
| DF | Shukurat Oladipo | 22 September 2004 | 8 | 0 |  AS Roma | |
| MF | Halimatu Ayinde | 16 May 1995 | 43 | 1 | FC Rosengård | |
| MF | Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene | 16 May 1995 | 29 | 4 |  Ottawa Rapid | |
| MF | Jennifer Echegini | 22 March 2001 | 28 | 3 | Paris Saint-Germain | |
| MF | Deborah Abiodun | 2 November 2003 | 22 | 0 | Washington Spirit | |
| MF | Precious Christopher | 14 August 2001 | 2 | 0 |  Yanga Princess | |
| FW | Rasheedat Ajibade | 8 December 1999 | 42 | 20 |  Atlético Madrid | |
| FW | Esther Okoronkwo | 27 March 1997 | 25 | 10 | AFC Toronto | |
| FW | Chinwendu Ihezuo | 30 April 1997 | 24 | 8 | CF Pachuca | |
| FW | Rinsola Babajide | 17 June 1998 | 12 | 2 | Roma | |
| FW | Gift Monday | 30 May 2001 | 19 | 5 | Washington Spirit | |
| FW | Folashade Ijamilusi | 30 May 2001 | 11 | 5 |  Liaoning Baiye | |
| FW | Joy Omewa | 1 December 2002 | 3 | 0 | Nottingham Forest | |
Recent call-ups
Following players have been called up to a squad in the past 12 months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Udoka Unachukwu | 17 December 2005 | 1 | 0 | Nasarawa Amazons |
v. Benin, 31 October 2025 |
| GK | Linda Jiwuaku | 6 June 2006 | 0 | 0 | Bayelsa Queens |
v. Cameroon, 4 June 2025 |
| GK | Tochukwu Oluehi | 2 May 1987 | - | - | Free agent | v. Morocco,26 July 2025 |
| DF | Blessing Ilivieda | 20 October 2002 | 5 | 0 | Edo Queens |
v. Benin, 31 October 2025 |
| DF | Miracle Usani | 20 June 2007 | 4 | 0 | Edo Queens |
v. Benin, 31 October 2025 |
| DF | Rofiat Imuran | 17 June 2004 | London City Lionesses |
v. Cameroon, 4 June 2025 | ||
| DF | Morufa Ademola | 3 May 1999 | Rivers Angels |
v. Cameroon, 4 June 2025 | ||
| MF | Taiwo Tewogbola Afolabi | 2 March 2007 | 2 | 0 | FC Robo Queens |
v. Benin, 31 October 2025 |
| MF | Josephine Mathias | 16 December 1999 | Nasarawa Amazons |
v. Cameroon, 4 June 2025 | ||
| MF | Cordelia Odoma | 26 October 2003 | - | - | Edo Queens |
v. Cameroon, 4 June 2025 |
| MF | Toni Payne | 22 April 1995 | - | - | Everton |
v. Morocco,26 July 2025 |
| FW | Kafayat Mafisere | 12 July 2003 | 0 | 0 | Rivers Angels |
v. Benin, 31 October 2025 |
| FW | Asisat Oshoala | 9 October 1994 | 67 | 36 | Bay FC |
v. Benin, 31 October 2025 |
| FW | Bolaji Olamide | 27 November 2003 | Remo Stars Ladies |
v. Cameroon, 4 June 2025 | ||
| FW | Emem Essien | 28 August 2001 | - | - | Edo Queens |
v. Cameroon, 4 June 2025 |
| FW | Francisca Ordega | 19 October 1993 | - | - | Al-Ittihad |
v. Morocco,26 July 2025 |
| FW | Ifeoma Onumonu | 25 February 1994 | - | - | Montpellier HSC |
v. Morocco,26 July 2025 |
| FW | Chioma Okafor | 20 March 2003 | - | - | UConn Huskies |
v. Morocco,26 July 2025 |
Notes:
- ALT: Alternate
Previous squads
Bold indicates winning squads
Captains
- Desire Oparanozie (2019)[39]
- Asisat Oshoala (2019–2022)[40]
- Onome Ebi (2022–2025)[41]
- Rasheedat Ajibade (2025–present)
Records
*Active players in bold, statistics as of November 2020.
Most capped players
|
Top goalscorers
|
Honours
Major competitions
Continental
Regional
Friendly
- 2019 Four Nations Tournament (women's football)
Third-place
- 2021 Turkish Women's Cup
Champions
- 2023 Women's Revelations Cup
- Third-place
Awards
- African Women's National Team of the Year
- Winners: (2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024)
- Competition organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, officially not recognized by FIFA.
Competitive record
FIFA Women's World Cup
| FIFA Women's World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1991 | Group stage | 10th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 1995 | 11th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 14 | |
| 1999 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| 2003 | Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| 2007 | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2011 | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 21st | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
 2019 | Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
  2023 |
10th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
 2027 | To be determined | |||||||
  2031 | To be determined | |||||||
 2035 | To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 9/10 | 30 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 23 | 65 | |
Olympic Games
Africa Women Cup of Nations
| Africa Women Cup of Nations record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1991 | Winner | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| 1995 | Winner | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 |
| 1998 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 2000 | Champions | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| 2002 | Champions | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 |
| 2004 | Champions | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| 2006 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
 2008 | Third place | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 2010 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| 2012 | Fourth place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
 2014 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
| 2016 | Champions | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 2018 | Champions | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 2022 | Fourth place | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
| 2024 | Champions | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| Total | 10 Titles[b] | 79 | 62 | 10 | 7 | 237 | 35 |
African Games
| African Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 2003 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Champions | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
 2011 | did not qualify | |||||||
 2015 | Fourth place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | |
| 2019 |
See Nigeria women's national under-20 football team | |||||||
| 2023 | Runners-up | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 4/4 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 52 | 11 | |
- 2019 edition of the football tournament was played by the U-20 team.
WAFU Women's Cup
| WAFU Zone B Women's Cup | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
 2018 | 3rd | 3rd | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| 2019 | Winner | 1st | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| Total | Group Stage | 1/1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
Other tournaments
| Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Turkish Women's Cup | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 |
| 2023 Women's Revelations Cup | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | −1 |
Notes
- CAF does not award an official title to the winner in 1991 and 1995. The first champion is registered from the 1998 edition onwards. However, it considers the 1991 and 1995 as official tournaments, counting the number of participations from 1991 onwards.
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