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Tag: Women’s World Cup

  • Women’s World Cup: Norway defeat Nigeria 3-0

    Women’s World Cup: Norway defeat Nigeria 3-0

    Ada Hegerberg was not needed as Norway kicked off their women’s World Cup Group A campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Nigeria on Saturday.

    Without Ballon d’Or winner Hegerberg, who quit international football in 2017 due to a dispute with her home federation, the 1995 champions relied on goals by Guro Reiten and Lisa-Marie Karlseng Utland.

    Also an own goal by Osinachi Ohale helped the Europeans prevail.

    The result put Norway in second place in Group A behind hosts France, who thrashed South Korea 4-0 on Friday in the opening game of the month-long tournament in Paris.

    Reiten put Norway in front after 17 minutes when she volleyed home from a corner.
    Utland doubled the tally with a powerful shot from close range after being set up by Reiten in the 34th.

    Three minutes later, three-times African champions Nigeria were completely overwhelmed as Ohale deflected Isabell Herlovsen’s cross into her own goal.

    Norway next face France in Nice on Wednesday while Nigeria take on South Korea in Grenoble the same day.

  • Women’s World Cup: FIFA formally welcome Super Falcons to France

    World football-ruling body FIFA on Wednesday in Reims formally welcomed African champions Nigeria to the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals holding in France.

    Ademola Olajire, Director of Communications of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), said in a statement on Wednesday that the team’s players officially performed the “Welcome’’ ritual.

    They were taken through the rules of the game by a FIFA official, Sandra Hunt, at their Hotel Mercure Reims Centre Cathedral.

    “A second session, on anti-doping, was guided by Dr. Rheema Alhosani.

    “The sessions were conducted after the Super Falcons’ first training session in Reims which lasted 90 minutes,’’ Olajire said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals will kick off on Friday with a clash between France and Korea Republic.

    The match will take place at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

    Matches will also take place in Grenoble, Le Havre, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Reims, Rennes and Valenciennes.

    The Nigerian senior female national team will file out on Saturday evening against Norway at the Stade Auguste Delaune in Reims in their first group game.

    The Falcons will then tackle Korea Republic at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble on June 12, before taking on France at the Roazhon Park in Rennes on June 17.

  • Falcons depart Avita Resort camp, fly to France on Tuesday

    The Nigerian National female football team, Super Falcons, departed their Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf camp in Austria on Tuesday for France for the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.

    Demola Olajire, the Director of Communication of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said in a statement on Monday that the team was on a two-week residential camp in Austria.

    “ The team was on a two-week residential camp at the Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf and will spend Monday night in Vienna before flying to Paris on Tuesday for the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.

    “The team is in high spirits in camp after handsome wins in two friendly matches against top clubs in Eastern Europe; the team defeated the Hungarian Premier Division side, Halandas Viktoria 5-1 in Hungary and recorded three goals against ZNK Pormuje in Slovenia,’’ Olajire said.

    He said that individual accomplishments are also a booster for the team.

    “Asisat Oshoala, who scored a brace in each of the friendly matches, has secured a substantive contract with FC Barcelona Ladies in Spain.

    “ Only weeks ago, she became the first African to score in the final of the UEFA Women’s League, even as FC Barcelona lost to defending champions Olympique Lyon in France.

    “Uchenna Kalu, who scored the other goal against Pormuje on Sunday, is in a rich vein of form, after scoring nine goals to emerge top scorer of the WAFU Women’s Cup of Nations in Abidjan, just before the trip to Austria.

    “There is a new bounce to the steps of power forward Desire Oparanozie, who has been made captain of the squad, and energetic winger Francisca Ordega is rearing to go after fully settling down to football life in China.

    “Petite forward Rasheedat Ajibade will be attending her first major finals as a foreign-based professional, and Chinwendu Ihezuo, who scored against Viktoria in Hungary, is also in great mood after settling down in China.

    “Goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi, defenders Onome Ebi, Osinachi Ohale and Ngozi Ebere, and midfielders Ngozi Okobi and Halimatu Ayinde, who played key roles in Nigeria’s triumph at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ghana late last year, are all confident the Falcons can pull surprises in France,’’ Olajire said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Falcons in Group A, are up against Norway in their first match of the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup at the Stade Auguste Delauney in Reims on Saturday.

    The team will also play Korea Republic on June 12 in Grenoble and host nation France in Rennes, on June 17.

  • FIFA doubles prize money for 2019 Women’s World Cup

    FIFA will raise the prize money for the Women’s World Cup from 15 million dollars to 30 million dollars.
    The raise is starting with next year’s edition in France, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on Friday, though critics immediately said the increase was not enough.
    Following a FIFA council meeting in Rwanda, the Swiss-Italian also said that 20 million dollars would be made available for pre-tournament preparations, meaning that 50 million in total would be allocated across the 24 participating nations.
    The prize money is double the amount awarded in the 2015 World Cup in Canada and for the first time clubs will be rewarded for their players taking part in the tournament, as is the case in the men’s edition.
    “It’s a very important message for women’s football. It will certainly boost this World Cup even more,” Infantino told a news conference.
    However, global footballers’ union FIFpro said the changes were not enough to redress the inequality between men’s and women’s football worldwide.
    “FIFPro notes the willingness of FIFA to increase prize money for the Women’s World Cup and make structural improvements to support women’s football.
    ” However, despite these changes football remains even further from the goal of equality for all World Cup players regardless of gender,” a FIFpro statement said.
    “In reality, the changes actually signify an increase in the gap between men’s and women’s prize money. This regressive trend appears to contravene FIFA’s statutory commitment to gender equality.
    “We strongly support our members, women’s national-team players in multiple countries, who have written to FIFA in recent days expressing their dismay about the distribution of prize money.”
    Players’ unions in Australia, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand had written to world soccer’s governing body to protest that even with women’s prize money being doubled, the rewards in the men’s game still dwarf the new amounts.
    The total prize money for this year’s men’s World Cup in Russia was $400m, with champions France receiving $38m.
    The letter from Australia’s PFA argued: “For the group stage alone, players in Australia Men National Football Team, Socceroos, have shared 2.4 million dollars for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.
    Meanwhile, Australia women’s national soccer team, the Matildas will only share 0.225 million dollars , less than 10 percent.
    “If the Matildas are to become World Champions, they will only receive 50 percent of what the Socceroos received for qualifying for Russia.”
    Infantino said that FIFA was committed to consistently increasing investment and cited the launch of a new strategy for women’s football earlier this month.
    The strategy included plans to strengthen the game in all 211 member associations.
    “Clearly… we want to invest more and earmark more for women’s football and not only for the best 24 teams in the world who play the World Cup.
    ”We have increased significantly the allocations and prize monies, but we have a duty to do so all over the world,” he said.
    “Also in these regulations there are specific requirements for all associations in the world that in order to receive the necessary grants they have to organise women’s competitions, otherwise they don’t receive these grants.”
    Reuters/NAN

  • Bob Marley's daughter helps Jamaica make World Cup history

    Bob Marley is one of Jamaica’s favourite sons, but it is the late musician’s daughter who is hitting the headlines for her part in the nation’s latest sporting success.

    Jamaica have become the first Caribbean team to qualify for a women’s football World Cup and it’s Cedella Marley – the first-born daughter of Bob – who the Reggae Girlz have to thank.
    In 2010, their team ceased to exist, only for Marley to come on board four years later as an ambassador and sponsor with the Bob Marley Foundation and help turn their fortunes around.
    That turnaround was completed in Texas on Wednesday evening, when Jamaica defeated Panama on penalties in the Concacaf Women’s Championship third-place play-off – a feat that has been described in the Jamaican press as “almost super-human”.
    Twice Jamaica took the lead over Panama and twice the Central Americans equalised, before Dominique Bond-Flasza scored the winning spot-kick to send the ‘Reggae Girlz’ to next year’s World Cup in France.
    “Big up to Cedella Marley for putting her neck on the line for us,” head coach Hue Menzie said after the game.
    As fate would have it, their qualification comes on the 20th anniversary of the men’s team reaching their first World Cup, in 1998 – also held in France.
    Previously a singer in the family band ‘Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers’, Marley, 51, is now the chief executive officer of her late father’s record label as well as a fashion designer – creating Jamaica’s kit for the London 2012 Olympics.
    Eight years ago, the Jamaican Football Federation (JFF) cut funding to its women’s football team, totally disbanding it, leaving the team unranked in the Fifa world rankings due to three years of inactivity.
    But in 2014, Marley became the team’s official ambassador and has been working with the Reggae Girlz ever since, while the Alacran Foundation has also provided what the JFF called “substantial funding” to support the Girlz in their World Cup campaign.
    She recently told BBC World Service how she thought the team would become “a very dominant presence” in women’s football, should they ever receive the same amount of investment the nation’s track and field stars receive.
    “The Reggae Girlz have held their own against some of the best, mainly on raw talent and passion for the sport,” Marley said.
    They will bring that passion to English soil later this month as they play Nottingham Forest Ladies in a friendly on 28 October.
    The Reggae Girlz will then turn their attention to next year’s French adventure – but not before plenty of celebrations back home.