The Nigeria women's national football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, represents

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in international

women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...

and is controlled by the

Nigeria Football Federation The Nigeria Football Federation (known as Nigeria Football Association until 2008) is Nigeria's association football, football sports governing body, governing body. It was formally launched in 1945 and formed the first Nigerian national football ...

(NFF). The team is

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

's most successful international women's football team, having won a record eleven

Women's Africa Cup of Nations The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations and formerly the African Women's Championship, is a biennial international women's football tournament organized by ...

titles; their most recent title in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, after defeating

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in the final. The team is also the only women's national team from the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

to have reached the quarterfinals in both the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

and the Summer Olympics. They are also one of the few teams in the world and only African team to have qualified for every edition of the

, with their best performance at the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

where they reached the quarterfinals.

History

They won the first seven

African championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between Africa, African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports club, sports clubs. List of championships ;Athletics * African ...

, and through their first 20 years lost only five games to African competition: 12 December 2002 to Ghana in

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...

, 3 June 2007 at

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, 12 August 2007 to

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

in an Olympic qualifier, 25 November 2008 at

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

in the semis of the 2008 Women's African Football Championship and May 2011 at Ghana in an All Africa Games qualification match. The Super Falcons have been able to dominate beyond Africa in such arenas as the

or the Olympic Games however. The team has been to every World Cup since 1991, but managed just once to finish in the top two. In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, the Super Falcons turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the first round, failing to score a single goal and losing all three Group A matches. They did little better in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, drawing only one of their Group B matches. However, they faced the

group of death A group of death in a multi-stage tournament is a group which is unusually competitive, because the number of strong competitors in the group is greater than the number of qualifying places available for the next phase of the tournament. Thus, in ...

in both 2003 and 2007, grouped both times with rising Asian power

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, traditional

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

power

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and a historic women's superpower in the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. Nigeria hosted the African women's championship finals for the third time in 2001 which were then canceled due to a severe outbreak of gang induced violence within the Nigerian area, replacing

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, which was initially granted the right to host but later pulled out citing financial difficulties, and won it for the seventh time in a row. Nigeria's Super Falcons and Ghana's Black Queens represented Africa in China for the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak o ...

After training with my team mates in the National Camp Super Falcon in Abuja Nigeria

The "Falconets" are the country's junior team (U-20), which performed creditably in the

2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national association football teams. Matches were held in four Moscow st ...

held in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

when they beat

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

8–0 before they were sent packing by Brazil in the Quarter-finals. They were the runner-up to Germany at the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who also hosted the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later, from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all si ...

. Nigeria also played in the

2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was an international association football tournament and the world championship for women's national teams under the age of 20, presented by Grant Connell, organized by the sport's world governing body FIFA. I ...

held in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and lost to Germany in the finals 0–1,

Asisat Oshoala Asisat Lamina Oshoala (born 9 October 1994) is a Nigerian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Bay FC and the Nigeria women's nation ...

got both the golden ball and golden boot. The "Flamingoes" are the country's cadet team (U-17), which qualified for the inaugural women's U-17 World Cup New Zealand 2008. Nigeria qualified for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

where they were placed in Group A with South Korea, Norway and hosts France.

Labour disputes

The Super Falcons have engaged in multiple disputes with the NFF over back pay, unpaid bonuses and bonus amounts, tournament preparation, and facilities, including sit-in protests, training boycotts, or threats to boycott matches in 2004, 2007, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2023.

Team image

Nicknames

The Nigeria women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "''Super

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

s''".

FIFA world rankings

Worst Ranking Best Ranking Worst Mover Best Mover

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend

2024

2025

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

On 11 July 2023, the coaching squad for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

was released by the

(NFF).

Manager history

Players

Current squad

*The following players were named to the squad for two friendlies against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

on June 2025.

Recent call-ups

Following players have been called up to a squad in the past 12 months. ''Notes:'' * : Alternate

Previous squads

''Bold indicates winning squads'' ;FIFA Women's World Cup * 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup squad * 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup squad * 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup squad * 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup squad * 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup squad * 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad * 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squad * 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup squad *

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squads The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was an international women's association football tournament held in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July until 20 August 2023. The 32 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of ...

;Olympic Games * 2000 Summer Olympics squad * 2004 Summer Olympics squad * 2008 Summer Olympics squad ;Africa Women Cup of Nations * 2000 African Women's Championship squad * 2010 African Women's Championship squad * 2012 African Women's Championship squad * 2014 African Women's Championship squad * 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations squad * 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations squad * 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations squad

Captains

Desire Oparanozie Ugochi Desire Oparanozie (born 17 December 1993) is a former Nigerian Women's association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward and the Nigeria women's national football team, Nigerian national team. Club ...

(2019) *

(2019–2022) *

Onome Ebi Onome Ebi (born 8 May 1983) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Nigerian club Abia Angels and the Nigeria women's national team. In 2023 she became the first African footballer, male or female, to play in 6 FIF ...

(2022–)

Records

''*Active players in bold, statistics as of November 2020.''

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Honours

Major competitions

**Quarterfinals:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

**Quarterfinals:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Africa Women Cup of Nations The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations and formerly the African Women's Championship, is a biennial international women's football tournament organized by ...

** ''Champions:''

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

** Third-place:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Continental

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

¹ ** Gold Medal:

**Fourth-place:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Regional

WAFU Zone B Women's Cup The WAFU Zone B Women's Cup is a women's association football competition contested by national teams of Zone B of the West African Football Union The West African Football Union (; ), officially abbreviated as WAFU-UFOA and WAFU, is a sports ...

** Winners:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

** Bronze:

Friendly

2019 Four Nations Tournament (women's football) Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

** Third-place *

2021 Turkish Women's Cup The 2021 Turkish Women's Cup, also named ''Festival Women's Trophy 2021'', was the fifth edition of the Turkish Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Turkey. It took place between 17 and 23 February in Antalya. ...

** Champions * 2023 Women's Revelations Cup ** Third-place

Awards

* African Women's National Team of the Year **Winners: (2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2023) # Competition organized by the

Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, officially not recognized by FIFA.

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

Olympic Games

Africa Women Cup of Nations

African Games

edition of the football tournament was played by the U-20 team.

WAFU Women's Cup record

Other tournaments

References

Notes

External links

Official website

FIFA profile
{{CAF women's teams African women's national association football teams Women's national sports teams of Nigeria