Power, Pride and Podiums: Celebrating Nigerian women’s sporting triumphs

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In a year marked by big disappointments on the men’s side, ABIODUN ADEWALE revisits how Nigerian women sustained the country’s sporting legacy in 2025

Queens of African football

A stunning comeback at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat ensured the Super Falcons remained the team to beat in African women’s football, as they clinched a record-extending WAFCON title, beating hosts Morocco 3-2 in July.

Trailing 2-0 at half-time in front of a partisan Moroccan crowd, the Super Falcons showed their pedigree and resilience, clawing their way back into the match with a display of clinical finishing and sheer determination to cement their status as queens of African football.

Goals from Esther Okoronkwo, Folashade Ijamilusi, and a late winner by Jeniffer Echegini overturned Morocco’s strong first-half lead, stunning the Atlas Lionesses, who were hoping to clinch their first-ever continental title on home soil.

After finishing in a disappointing fourth at the previous edition in 2022, the Super Falcons needed to make a statement in their 13th appearance.

They were also led by a Nigerian coach, just like other editions they have dominated, and coach Justine Madugu, particularly, turned doubters into believers with the comeback against Morocco in the final and other matches.

While his pedigree and the Falcons’ ability were put to the test, they went marching in the quarter-finals, beating Zambia 5-0. It was perhaps a win fueled by the disrespect from the Copper Queens, as confirmed by captain Rasheedat Ajibade.

“Before the game, we were really underrated to be honest, and there was so much hype and so much noise on the Zambian side,” she said.

“We heard all of that and, to be honest, those are the words that also inspire us a lot because we like it when people try to show themselves.

“It is in these moments when they underrate us that we try to step up and show who we are as a team. Our game plan basically was to focus on ourselves and do what we needed to do to win the game.”

Throughout the tournament, they scored 14 goals, conceding three. Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie also didn’t let in any goals until the semi-final and final.

Ajibade went on to win the MVP award of the tournament, Nnadozie was named the best goalkeeper, but the team got the ultimate reward on their return as President Bola Tinubu showered national honours, landed properties as well as a whopping $100,000 cash gift on each of the players and the technical crew.

Dominant D’Tigress

Like the Super Falcons, D’Tigress extended their Nigeria’s dominance in African women’s basketball in August, defeating Mali 78-64 in Ivory Coast to win a record fifth consecutive FIBA AfroBasket Women’s title, and their seventh overall.

The triumph not only cemented their dominance over the continent but also bettered Senegal’s four-in-a-row streak from 1974 to 1981, establishing Nigeria as the first side in history to win the championship five times consecutively.

The final was characterised by D’Tigress spirit, trailing the Malians, who claimed the first quarter 26-21. Coach Rena Wakama’s side recovered from the five-point deficit to clinch the second quarter 20-15, as both teams went into the halftime interval level at 41-41 apiece.

The third quarter also went the way of D’Tigress, who clinched it by another 20-15 scoreline.

In the fourth quarter, Nigeria began to run down the clock as they tried to cling to their advantage. The last 10 minutes of the quarter finished in favour of D’Tigress 17-8 as Nigeria powered to yet another continental title.

The win saw Nigeria extend their unbeaten streak at the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket tournament to 29 games, stretching back the last 10 years, a mark no other team has reached. Their last loss in the tournament occurred on October 2, 2015, when they fell 71-70 to hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals.

Also, they secured an automatic spot at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria’s Amy Okonkwo was named the Most Valuable Player, winning the award for a second consecutive tournament.

Just as he did for the Falcons, President Tinubu also showered national honours, landed properties, as well as $100,000 cash gift on each of the players and the technical crew.

Golden Girls of Nigerian cricket

Nigeria’s female U-19 cricket team, the Junior Female Yellow Greens, rewrote Nigeria’s cricket story in January, thanks to their exploits at the 2025 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, where they finished sixth.

The team ended their campaign with a nervy six-run win over test-playing nation, Ireland in their second Super 6 game.

It was Nigeria’s second victory of the tournament in three games after they also beat New Zealand by two runs in their first-ever ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup match. Their only defeat at the competition was against South Africa during the group stage.

The Junior Female Yellow Greens qualified from the group stages as the second-best team in their group before finishing third in the Super 6, just one point behind England, who picked the second semi-final ticket in the group.

They had two games against Samoa (group stage) and England (Super 6) washed out by the rain but they had done enough in the other three games to pave the way for the next set of U-19 women’s players in 2027, as Nigeria will enter the next tournament in Nepal and Bangladesh automatically.

Despite missing the semi-finals by a slim margin, the team’s run at the tournament was nothing short of remarkable, being the first team from West Africa to take part in the tournament and attracting more attention to the game in Nigeria.

Head of Global Development for the International Cricket Council, William Gelenwright, commended the team’s effort.

“A stunning performance by Nigeria. I wonder if we will look back on this tournament as the inflexion point for Cricket Nigeria and the establishment of another genuine power in African cricket,” Glenwright said after Nigeria’s win over Ireland.

Proud Flagbearers

Nigeria’s journey into Flag Football leaped in 2025 thanks to a double dominance of winning the men’s and women’s titles at the maiden IFAF African Flag Football Championship,s which was held in Cairo, Egypt, in June.

In the women’s tournament, Nigeria put out a confident performance to take victory over Morocco 26-12 in the final, with two decisive second-half touchdowns by quarterback Anuoluwapo Bello.

The wins also ensured that Nigeria secured direct passage to the IFAF Flag Football World Championships in 2026.

The inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Championships marked a major milestone in the sport’s journey to the first Olympic Games appearance in Los Angeles in 2028.

All the participating teams also got their first official rankings after the tournament.

In total, 11 teams from eight nations, spanning the African continent, participated in the Africa Flag – the first of IFAF’s continental championships series for 2025.

Green Falcons ready for global touchdown

Nigeria’s women’s national rugby league team, the Green Falcons, became one of the most inspiring teams in Africa,  rising from local pitches to the 2025 IRL Women’s World Series Final in Canada.

The team’s journey began in November 2023, when they played their first international games against Ghana in Lagos. The Green Falcons made a loud debut, winning 40–4 in the first match and 14–6 in the second.

In 2024, Nigeria and Kenya competed in the first-ever rugby league Women’s World Cup qualifier in Africa, with the two-legged tie hosted by Kenya Rugby League at the NYS Headquarters in Nairobi. They edged Kenya on a technicality to become the first-ever MEA women’s team to qualify for the Rugby League World Cup Series.

In a very even, fiercely contested series, Nigeria won the first match 22-14 on Thursday, September 19, 2024, before Kenya bounced back to win the second match 8-0 on Sunday, September 22, 2024, as both sides tied on 22–22 points. Both sides also scored four tries apiece throughout the series. However, Nigeria kicked 3 goals to 2 by Kenya, who also kicked 2 field goals. So Nigeria proceeded as Africa’s sole representative to the inaugural 2025 World Series.

Ahead of the tournament, they also had an intensive preparation camp where they recorded back-to-back victories over the Ghana women’s team. In their first encounter, the Falcons sealed an emphatic 40–0 win before completing the double with a 24–8 triumph in the second match.

On October 21, 2025, the Falcons made their World Series debut in Canada. With incredible teamwork and sharp discipline, they defeated Ireland 10–0, securing a place in the final against Fiji.

They lost 62–4 to Fiji in the final of the 2025 IRL Women’s Rugby League World Series at the Terry Fox Stadium in Canada, ending their hopes of picking the eighth ticket to the 2026 Women’s Rugby World Cup and also becoming the first African team to do so, but they held their heads high, returning with an invaluable experience for the journey ahead.

Amazing Amusan

The 2025 World Athletics Championship in Tokyo was perhaps the most chaotic event attended by Nigeria. It all started with an alleged ‘inferior’ kit controversy, which was stirred by Amusan, resulting in a war of words from the president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa.

However, the former world champion rose above the controversy, returning to the podium at the global level since winning her third Diamond League title in 2023. Amusan entered Tokyo, needing to bar memories of her near miss at the 2020 Olympics as well as other unfruitful outings at the global level since 2023.

In the final inside the Olympic Stadium on September 15, 2025, she clocked 12.29s to finish behind Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji, who set a national record of 12.24s to claim gold, while America’s Grace Stark took bronze in 12.34s. Earlier in the semis, she was in commanding form, winning her race in 12.36s ahead of Visser and Skrzyszowska to set up hopes of retaining her crown. But in the final, despite a strong start, she was unable to match Kambundji’s late surge.

Although it was a silver, the 28-year-old was visibly over the moon by the achievement and didn’t hold back her thoughts in a post via Instagram.

“This Golden Silver symbolises our collective efforts. To my support staff, including trainers, therapists, and nutritionists, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes: your contributions were invaluable. To my family, mentors, and friends, thank you for your constant love, encouragement, and sacrifices. You all have been my rock through thick and thin.

“Finally, to all my TobiXpress FanMily una too much! This Golden Silver is for all of us.”

Amusan’s silver medal was the country’s sole piece at the event, and it added to Nigeria’s tally at the World Championships, making it the nation’s 12th medal in the competition’s history.

She is also one of three athletes, after Ese Brume and Blessing Okagbare, to have won two World Athletics Championships medals.

After the championships, she climbed to third place in the World Athletics women’s 100m hurdles rankings, making her Nigeria’s highest-ranked athlete in any discipline.

Having also ended her season in Tokyo, she ended the year in fourth place in the World Athletics women’s 100m hurdles rankings, and that was still enough to keep her as Nigeria’s highest-ranked athlete.

Eniola Bolaji: Africa’s badminton trailblazer

The first African to win an Olympic medal in badminton, Eniola Bolaji, built on her performance from the 2024 Olympic Games by reaching six international finals in 2026, winning five of them.

In the year under review, she won gold medals at the 2025 Spanish Para Badminton International II in Vitoria, Spain, the Spanish Para Badminton International 2025 in Toledo, Spain, the 2025 British and Irish Para Badminton International in Cardiff, Wales, as well as two other gold medals at the All-Africa Para Badminton Championships in Abia State.

She tried to make it six but pulled out of the POLYTRON Indonesia Para Badminton International 2025 in Solo, Indonesia, in November, yielding the final to world number one, Syakuroh Ikhtiar, in the first set.

In April, the world number two was also honoured for her exploits in the Women’s Singles SL3 category as the 2024 Africa Women in Badminton Award in recognition of her achievements and journey in para-badminton.

Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years

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