Nigeria Football Federation board member, Aisha Falode, has applauded the football Federation, sponsors, the media and her supporters for the huge successes recorded in her last assignment as the Chairperson, Nigeria Women Football League.
Falode, who is also the Chairman, Media Committee and Women Football Committee, said at the well attended event at the Radisson Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, that, she exploited the event as a big opportunity to say a big thank you to all those who made it possible for her to succeed in her immediate past assignment as the Chairperson of the Nigeria Women Football League, the NWFL.
She noted: “It’s symbolic for me to come back to the Radisson Hotel Ikeja to say thank you because it was the same venue and room she brought the media and other supporters to, to intimate them about the assignment from the NFF when the journey started in 2017.
“Some of the achievements of Aisha Falode as NWFL boss include: NWFL, having two major sponsorships in a single season from the Peculiar Ultimate Concerns Ltd and the Tulcan Energy Resources, first time in the history of women’s football in Nigeria. At the Women’s Nations Cup in Ghana, the Super Falcons team featured seven home based players from the NWFL. These same players made it to the FIFA World Cup in France. All seven players became foreign- based stars after the World Cup.
“I am delighted to report to everyone that supported me in my journey as Chairperson of the NWFL, that together, we had a great scorecard that helped change the face of women’s football not only in Nigeria, but also at the continental and World levels.”
The direct beneficiaries of the positive changes brought forth by Aisha Falode’s women football revolution, the foreign based footballers – Assisat Oshoala, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Glory Ogbonna and Rasheedat Ajibade, among others took time to commend Falode in video messages sent from their various places in Europe.
In his own comment, the former president of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick, said at the occasion that: “It’s never enough to speak about Aisha Falode. She’s one person that loves Nigerian women football beyond comprehension. She has done a lot for Nigerian football. For her, if you are not on top, you can never be a topic. Everything about Aisha Falode is superb. She believes strongly that if you don’t make the changes, you cannot see the difference. She was like the heartbeat of the last administration of the NFF when I was president. Throw Aisha into any space, she will give you the best.
Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, said at the event that, with: “Aisha Falode, the women national team became the second biggest in Nigerian football after the Super Eagles. The last NFF brought Aisha to close the gap between the men’s and women’s football and she eventually gave us the best.”
Larry Izamoje, said at the event that, because of Aisha Falode, the life stories of Nigerian women footballers have changed for the better. As she helped repair the life stories of the players’ families in Nigeria. Today, we have a better Super Falcons team open for everyone to see, going by the team’s performance at the last FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/ New Zealand.
Former national team captain, ‘Mathematical’ Chief Segun Odegbami, met Aisha Falode some 30 years ago as a sports broadcaster in Lagos. And with what she has done positively over the years to take women’s football to the next level in Nigeria, he sees her conquering the frontiers of the gender game in the world.