By Daily Sports on December 7, 2015

Chairperson of Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), Chief (Mrs) Dilichukwu Onyedinma, has said that Nigerian football ranks among the least funded in Africa.

In a telephone chat with Daily Sports from her Abuja office, Mrs Onyedinma disclosed that in few African countries, women’s football leagues receive heavy funding from their federations, as well as the whole 15 per cent of FIFA’s yearly Women Football Development Grant, directly into their account via their federations.

“The amount provided for in the existing Glo Contract for 2015 should be released to the NWFL in full. At the expiration of the Glo Contract, NWFL should be freed from the contract, so that it can seek and negotiate its own terms either with Glo or any other organisation. The 15 per cent FIFA Women’s Football Development grant should be released to the NWFL as is the practice in other established Leagues and foot-balling countries.”

“Despite this,” she noted, “we have been able to take the league beyond where it was yesterday. We provided a new logo for the Nigeria Women’s Football League and flagged off various grassroots programmes in some states,” adding that NWFL   established the Women’s Premier League, the Women Professional League and the Women’s Amateur League.

“It will interest the public to know that we provided statue, which was not in existence before now, for the League, and registered the Nigeria Women’s Football League with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). All activities of the league are fully computerised. Our fans and media personnel can easily get whatever information they need from the league without stress. The League has succeeded in providing the entire women’s national teams with players that have won laurels for the country,” she affirmed.

Onyedinma said it is on record that goal poacher, Asisat Oshoala, was playing in the League when she won the Golden Ball in Japan, and subsequently named Africa Player of the Year (2014); MVP in Namibia, BBC African Woman Footballer of the Year, 2014. “We equally have several of our players plying their football trade with stronger leagues abroad.”

The NWLF boss noted: “Let me emphasise here that South Africa Women’s Football League just commenced their league this year and they were given a whopping $1 million take-off grant, with a promise of a yearly $2.5 million support for the next five years. Nigeria Women’s Football League got Zero kobo on take-off. Yet, our dominance on the African continent is in no doubt over the years, and we still remain Africa’s number one. This is as a result of the NWFL’s league resolve to continue to bring about unparalleled innovations, programmes and systems that are second to none on the African continent. My fears, however, is: with very huge funds injected by other African countries into their leagues, they are fast catching up with Nigeria. And this means we must step up our efforts in this regard, lest they catch up with us in no distant future, and your guess is as good as mine.”

The executive committee member of the NFF added that nonetheless, their joy is that the present board, led by Amaju Pinnick, has promised that henceforth, whatever that is due for women’s football development would be remitted directly to them. She said that they earnestly hinge their hope on this great promise by the supremo of the apex football governing body in the land.

On the future of the game in the country, the former athlete stressed that FIFA has frowned at those countries that underfund their domestic leagues and the development of their women’s football in particular. “To meet with the models attainable in European and American countries, the country must urgently introduce women’s football in schools and; this will make many female youth to participate in the game with scholarships given to identify talents in other to keep them. This is why we deliberately designed our logo with four EEEEs, which stands for: education, employment, empowerment and entertainment.”

The sports scientist-turned administrator said synergy should be created between women’s football clubs with the existing male teams. Here, the established male teams should be mandated to adopt the female teams, as we have in England, such as Arsenal Football Clubs (men) and Arsenal Ladies, Liverpool men and women and others.

She averred: “Policies should be put in place to involve the women in the decision- making body as it relates to sports.  Recruit, retain, retrain and reward women’s football players, coaches and administrators just as their men counterparts. Provide enabling and interesting training centres and facilities to inspire young female players. This will make them stronger, healthier, and help to develop their skills and overcome significant cultural and societal barriers. Organise a lot of competitions for women’s football teams; this is because competition is key to sustainability of success.”

The Co-ordinator of the Association of Women in Sports said that funds provided for the NWFL as presented and approved in the annual budgetary provisions of the country should be released to the NWFL in order to better its league and institute fundamental and far-reaching developmental programmes that will be result oriented.

•Photo shows NWFL Chairperson, Chief (Mrs) Dilichukwu Onyedinma.

Source Daily Sports

Posted December 7, 2015

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