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Experience Will Speak! Madugu Predicts Super Falcons’ Ninth WAFCON Crown Over Morocco”
Nigeria’s head coach, Justin Madugu, has insisted that the Super Falcons will not be fazed by hosts Morocco or their World Cup–winning coach as they head into tonight’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final in Rabat.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Addressing reporters at Friday’s pre‑match press conference, Madugu said his players are mentally prepared and inspired by their unrivalled pedigree in African women’s football.
“It’s not just about stepping onto the pitch; we have to be ready for every possible situation. Experience has taught us that,” he said confidently.
Despite going up against Morocco’s tactician Jorge Vilda—who led Spain to the 2023 World Cup title—Madugu maintained that the Falcons would not be lured into psychological battles.
“We have our strategy, and we will stick to it. We know what to expect from Morocco’s coach. We hope our unbeaten record in WAFCON finals continues, but we also know every final comes with its own challenges.”
The Falcons, Africa’s most decorated women’s team, have never lost a WAFCON final—a streak they are eager to preserve.
“We believe in ourselves and in our players. Of course, finals come with pressure, but reaching this stage only increases our hunger to win,” Madugu added.
Tonight’s showdown at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium is about more than silverware. For Nigeria, it is Mission X—a quest for an unprecedented 10th WAFCON crown. For Morocco, it is an opportunity to make history as the first North African side to lift the trophy on home soil.
Both sides remain unbeaten. Nigeria have conceded just once in five matches, with right‑back Michelle Alozie netting a stoppage‑time winner in the 2–1 semifinal victory over South Africa.
“Mission X means everything to us,” Alozie told BBC Sport Africa. “We’re growing as a team, and you can see it with every game.”
Nine different Falcons have scored so far, while goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie has had little to do thanks to a rock‑solid defense.
Morocco, meanwhile, have shown remarkable resilience—twice coming from behind against Zambia in the group stage and edging Ghana on penalties in the semifinals. Vilda’s halftime adjustments turned that game around, but questions linger over defensive gaps and captain Ghizlane Chebbak’s quiet form in the knockouts.
Still, with dangerous forwards like Ibtissam Jraidi and Sanaa Mssoudy, the Atlas Lionesses remain a threat.
A win for Morocco would be a watershed moment, rewarding years of investment in women’s football and signalling a new challenge to Nigeria’s dominance.
This is only the second WAFCON encounter between the two nations; their 2022 semifinal ended in heartbreak for Nigeria, who fell 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. Tonight, history beckons once again
Nigeria ended the 24th African Athletics Championships on a strong note as the women’s 4x400m relay team stormed to gold on the final day, helping the country finish with a total of 12 medals.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The quartet of Esther Okon, Toheebat Jimoh, Jecinter Lawrence, and Patience Okon-George delivered a dominant performance to successfully defend their title, winning in 3:29.25 on Sunday and finishing comfortably ahead of Ethiopia and Kenya.
Nigeria controlled the race from the opening leg and crossed the finish line nearly 30 metres clear of their closest rivals, securing the country’s fourth gold medal of the competition.
Overall, Team Nigeria finished fourth on the medal table with four gold, five silver, and three bronze medals, behind Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia. Kenya topped the standings with 17 medals, including six gold, while South Africa also secured six gold medals, and Ethiopia claimed five.
Nigeria’s final-day silver medal came through Rosemary Chukwuma, who finished second in the women’s 200m with a time of 23.60s, behind Ivory Coast’s Maboundou Kone, who clocked 23.36s. Chukwuma ended the championships with three medals, having earlier won gold in the women’s 4x100m relay and silver in the 100m.
The country’s campaign was led by world record holder Tobi Amusan, who claimed gold in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 12.83s. The mixed 4x400m relay team of Ezekiel Asuquo, Toheebat Jimoh, Victor Sampson, and Patience Okon-George also secured gold in 3:16.44, while the women’s 4x100m relay team added another title in 42.94s.
Silver medals were won by Oyesade Olatoye in the hammer throw (69.60m), Divine Oladipo in the discus, and the men’s 4x100m relay team, which finished in 38.70s. Adaobi Tabugbo earned bronze in the women’s 100m hurdles with 13.26s, while Chidera Ezeakor also picked up bronze in the men’s 100m after running 10.31s, rounding off a strong outing for Nigeria.
Nigerian activist Omoyele Sowore has criticised singer Adekunle Gold over the legal case involving a young man identified as Adeboye Samuel.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
News reports that Adeboye was taken to court after making a social media post about the singer’s daughter.
Reacting to the development, Sowore referenced an old post by Adekunle Gold in which the singer had criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He noted that the post, which circulated during the 2012 fuel subsidy protests, had gone unpunished as an expression of free speech. The post read: “Dear God, if you give us Dagrin back, we will give you Jonathan in return.”
Sowore wrote on X: “@AdekunleGold in 2012 openly criticising then-President @GoodluckJonathan. Back then, it was rightly called free speech, and if he had been arrested for those tweets, we would have been on the streets demanding his immediate release.
“How then does someone who benefited from freedom of expression turn around years later to use the police, courts, and the brutal cybercrime framework against ordinary Nigerians over online banter and social media exchanges?
“You cannot enjoy free speech when you are powerless, and criminalise it the moment you become influential. Freedom of expression must apply to everyone, celebrities, politicians, activists, and poor young Nigerians on social media alike.”
He further urged the Nigeria Police Force not to act as a “private army” for influential individuals, and called on the judiciary to avoid imposing excessive penalties on online speech cases that, according to him, should not be treated as criminal matters.
Rabiu Kwankwaso, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has called on Nigerians to move beyond ethnic and religious divisions ahead of the 2027 general elections.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Kwankwaso made the appeal during an interview with Trust TV on Sunday, where he spoke on political alignments ahead of the polls.
The former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) said political success in Nigeria cannot be achieved by the North or Muslims alone without support from Christians and other regions.
“We must look beyond tribe and religion. We are Northerners and Muslims, and everybody knows that, but we can’t play politics without Christians, Southeast, South-South or South-west,” he said.
Kwankwaso also praised former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, describing him as a widely accepted politician across the country.
“If you look at it, Peter Obi is a very popular politician in the entire South and many parts of Northern Nigeria, and you cannot take that from him, the same with the Kwankwasiyya movement,” he said.
He further noted that supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement are largely young Nigerians who are seeking better opportunities rather than ethnic or family-based loyalty.
“We are lucky that our supporters are mainly young men and women who are looking for a way out. They are not looking for their brothers or their sisters or somebody close,” he added.
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