The Nigerian Super Falcons are ready to reclaim their birthright as the traditional African women’s soccer team, as the African Women’s Championship begins in South Africa. The perennial champions who have won 5 of the 6 editions of the championship only lost the last edition to Equatorial Guinea, which also hosted the last edition.

The Nigerian team may have lost the last edition by underestimating their opponent; and partly because the team also had some fitness issues during the time. This time they are ready to recover.

One of the things that would work in the falcons’ favor is the coaching team led by former African top scorer Uche Eucharia, who has a lot of experience after being in the first 3 editions of the women’s world cup. She was also in the first edition of the Africa Championships held in Abeokuta in Nigeria in 1998 as the team’s assistance coach.

Uche Eucharia is assisted by another seasoned ex-Falcons member, Anne Agumanu, who was the keeper during her time. With the team being managed by former players who know the areas of strengths and weaknesses of the various teams, it would be easier for them to do well in South Africa and be victorious in the end.

The current Nigerian team is a mix of experience and youth as some of the players graduated from the U-20s that reached the final of the junior women’s championship in Germany this year.

However, one area where the hawks need to work the most is the attack area; It was evident during the U-20 Championship in Germany that the team was struggling to convert the begging opportunities they had. With a forward with great experience as a current coach, that should no longer be a major problem.

The team is very strong in the midfield and in defense: they only need to add one or two good forwards to increase the effort of the midfielders. If the team is able to hold its own like the U-20s and U-17s recently did, it would be easy for them to succeed with the addition of seasoned veterans.

The Falcons play their first game against Mali on November 1. The other teams in his group include host nation South Africa and Tanzania. The only major threat to their ambition is the host team, who have the same experience, although they have not won any tournament titles.