Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) director of information, Ademola Olajire has come out with a long line of points he believes should convince critical fans and journalists in the country that the soccer governing body’s bid to host this year’s African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON 2020) is in order and should be supported by all citizens.
Megasportsarena.com can report that, in the face of a barrage of very critical and caustic comments trailing confirmation of Nigeria’s readiness to host the championship, after failing to hook a similar move to stage the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Olajire stressed that it would be another case of bringing the game home to a nation that plays a leading role not only in results but also in terms of followership.
While also pointing out that Nigeria has a history of successfully hosting continental and global competitions in the past, Olajire affirmed that it is high time to bring another major event to the country, and he went on to confirm that the NFF have official tabled the nation’s interest to host this year’s AWCON, even in the face of mounting antagonism from the media and public.
The last major tournament hosted by Nigeria was the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which came 10 years after the most populous African nation hosted the under-20 version in 1999, then dubbed World Youth Championship (WYC), and Olajire argues that nothing should stop their latest bid.
Six nations have hosted the event since it switched to a tournament format in 1998, with Nigeria and South Africa having both staged it thrice, while Equatorial Guinea has done it twice and one each by Namibia, Cameroon and Ghana.
Incidentally, the Nigeria’s female team, Super Falcons are eight-time winners of the continental showpiece, and even won the last edition in Ghana, despite having hosted the event on three times before – 1998, 2002 and 2006 – all of which they won, and Olajire says the NFF believe it is the right time to host the event one more time.
Although no dates have yet been set for the 2020 AWCON, it is usually held in the second half of the year, towards which the NFF have forwarded Lagos, Benin City, Asaba, Uyo and Kaduna as likely venues, but Confederation of African Football (CAF) president, Ahmad Ahmad disclosed that two-time hosts, Equatorial Guinea are also interested in receiving this year’s event.
This comes after CAF launched a spirited drive to find a host for AWCON 2020, following the late withdrawal of Congo-Brazaville from welcoming the 12-team competition and, although Olajire believes Nigeria stand a good chance of taking over the venture, Ahmad said a final decision will be made at its next executive committee meeting on January 15.
Olajire told BBC Sport: “This is the home of women’s football and the leading football nation in the continent. I believe it’s the right time to do it again. We’ve done it before and we believe it will be like bringing it home again. We’ve formally written to CAF about the interest to host the event. We are working on the bidding documents and we should get it over to CAF soon.”
