Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has rewarded Edo Queens with N50m after the club won the 2025/26 Nigeria Women‘s Football League (NWFL) title and successfully defended its WAFU-B CAF Women’s Champions League qualifying title in Burkina Faso, Made In Africa Sport reports.

The champions returned to Benin on Tuesday to a hero’s welcome, with government officials, sports administrators, stakeholders, supporters and fans turning out at the Benin Airport to celebrate their latest continental success.

The team was then taken on a victory parade from the airport through Airport Road to Osadebey Avenue, where Governor Okpebholo received the players and officials amid cheers from supporters.

Edo Queens defeated Ghanaian champions Ampem Darkoa Ladies in a dramatic final in Ouagadougou to retain the WAFU-B title and earn a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League in South Africa.

The victory completed a remarkable domestic and continental campaign for the Nigerian champions, who had earlier won the NWFL Super Six to qualify for the WAFU-B tournament.

Enabulele praises Edo Queens players, coaches and government support

Speaking at the reception, Executive Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission Desmond Enabulele described the back-to-back successes as another landmark in the state’s sporting resurgence.

Enabulele said the NWFL Super Six victory gave Edo Queens the opportunity to represent Nigeria in the WAFU-B qualifiers, where they successfully defended the title they previously won.

He attributed the team’s achievements to the commitment of the players, coaches and management, alongside sustained financial backing from the Edo State Government.

The sports commission chairman specifically praised Okpebholo for releasing funds promptly for sporting programmes, saying adequate financing remained central to the development of sports.

Enabulele singled out Atume Doosuur, Esther Chioma Moses, Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and assistant captain Valentina Uroko for their performances during the campaign.

He also praised head coach Moses Aduku, describing him as one of the finest female football coaches in Nigeria.

Aduku was unavailable for the WAFU-B tournament because he was on national duty with the Falconets, prompting Edo Queens to bring in Bendel Insurance head coach Kennedy Boboye.

Enabulele thanked Boboye for accepting the assignment and guiding the team to another continental triumph.

The sports commission chairman also acknowledged the contribution of Edo APC chairman Jarrett Tenebe, who supported the team during the NWFL Super Six in Port Harcourt and later travelled to Burkina Faso for the WAFU-B campaign.

Enabulele said Tenebe’s contribution deserved recognition regardless of political considerations.

“This is not about politics. It is about showing sincere gratitude to a deserving person, irrespective of class or status,” he said, as quoted by Daily Times Anchor.

Governor recalls tense Ghana final

Okpebholo praised the players for their fighting spirit and said he had remained confident that Edo Queens would overcome Ampem Darkoa despite the tension surrounding the final.

The governor said an earlier victory over the Ghanaian side in the tournament could have produced a different outcome in the final, but he trusted the players to rise to the occasion when it mattered most.

“If you had won the first match against Ampem Darkoa Ladies of Ghana, they would have defeated you in the finals,” he said.

Okpebholo said he believed the team would make Edo proud because of the importance of the trophy to the state.

“I was very confident that our girls would make us proud, as this cup means a lot to our people,” he said.

The governor also recalled the decisive penalty shootout in the final, particularly praising the goalkeeper for anticipating the Ghanaian player’s effort and making the crucial save.

“That brilliant save gave us the energy and confidence we needed,” Okpebholo said.

He said the save changed the momentum of the shootout, adding that he could see the Ghanaian players beginning to lose confidence.

“At that point, I knew we had the advantage,” he said.

Okpebholo promised that his administration would continue to support the team and create opportunities for the players to develop.

“As a government, we will continue to support and reward the team and create more opportunities for them to excel,” he said.

The governor subsequently announced the ₦50m cash reward for the WAFU-B champions.

Edo’s growing presence in national teams

Enabulele also used the reception to highlight the growing presence of Edo athletes in Nigeria’s national teams.

He disclosed that six Edo players are currently part of the Falconets squad representing Nigeria at the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Poland.

Seven Edo players are also members of Nigeria’s Under-19 girls’ cricket team that qualified for the World Cup, with an Edo player serving as captain.

According to Enabulele, preparations for the cricket World Cup are being conducted at the Edo High Performance Centre.

The developments, he said, reflected the state’s growing contribution to national sports beyond football.

Edo Queens will now turn their attention to the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League in South Africa, where they will compete against some of Africa’s leading women’s clubs.

Having claimed the NWFL title and retained their WAFU-B crown, the Nigerian champions will be seeking another strong continental campaign when the Champions League begins.

The post Governor Okpebholo rewards Edo Queens with N50m after NWFL, WAFU B triumph appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

Malawi historic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup has become one of the defining stories of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, with the Scorchers’ remarkable campaign challenging the traditional hierarchy of African women’s football.

Entering the tournament as debutants and ranked 153rd in the world, Malawi were drawn into Group C alongside Zambia, Egypt and 10-time African champions Nigeria. Few would have expected the Scorchers to emerge as one of the tournament’s biggest stories.

They announced their arrival in emphatic fashion in their opening match, defeating Nigeria 3-2 to immediately establish themselves as serious contenders.

The victory provided Malawi with the confidence to navigate the group stage successfully, as they finished top of Group C and advanced to the quarter-finals.

Their momentum continued in the knockout stages when the Scorchers defeated Ghana‘s Black Queens 2-1 in the quarter-finals. The victory secured their place in the semi-finals and, more importantly, guaranteed Malawi a historic place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

It was the first World Cup qualification in the history of Malawi’s senior women’s national team and the highest achievement yet for the country’s women’s football programme.

Malawi Challenging Africa’s established order

Malawi’s rise represents more than an individual success story.

For years, African women’s football has largely been dominated by established powers such as Nigeria, South Africa and Cameroon. Their consistency at continental competitions helped create a hierarchy in which emerging nations often struggled to challenge the traditional heavyweights.

That landscape, however, is changing.

The emergence of Ghana, Zambia, Morocco, Algeria and now Malawi has demonstrated the increasing competitiveness of the women’s game across the continent.

Malawi’s journey is particularly significant because the Scorchers did not simply participate in their first WAFCON. They competed against experienced opposition, defeated one of Africa’s most successful teams and progressed all the way to the final.

Although Cameroon eventually defeated Malawi in the final, the Scorchers had already achieved something historic by reaching the championship match and securing their World Cup ticket.

Chawinga sisters bring global attention

The Scorchers’ success has also provided greater visibility for Malawi’s players, particularly the Chawinga sisters.

Captain Tabitha Chawinga, who plays for Lyon Women in France, has become one of the most recognisable figures in Malawi’s team, while her sister Temwa Chawinga, a Kansas City player, has also established herself as a prominent name in the women’s game.

Their careers have provided young African players with visible examples of what can be achieved at the highest level.

The Chawinga sisters have also helped draw greater international attention to Malawi’s football story, giving the Scorchers faces and personalities that supporters around the world can connect with.

What the World Cup means for Malawi

Malawi’s qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup gives the country an opportunity to take its recent progress beyond the African stage.

The World Cup will expose the Scorchers to some of the leading women’s national teams in the world while providing their players with an opportunity to compete at the highest level of international football.

It could also create greater visibility for women’s football in Malawi and provide momentum for further investment in the development of the game.

For African women’s football more broadly, Malawi’s rise offers another indication that the gap between the continent’s traditional powers and emerging nations is becoming increasingly narrow.

The Scorchers entered WAFCON as newcomers.

They leave as finalists, World Cup qualifiers and one of the biggest success stories of the tournament.

Their journey has shown that African women’s football is no longer defined solely by its traditional giants. The next generation of challengers is already here and Malawi have shown just how far they can go.

The post Malawi World Cup qualification signals new era for African women’s football appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

Nigeria open their WAFCON 2026 title defence against debutants Malawi tonight. History says the group stage is where the Falcons are at their most ruthless, but Zambia are lurking.

The Super Falcons, the biggest name in African women’s football, begin the defence of their crown today, Tuesday, 28th July, when they face debutants Malawi under the Rabat floodlights. Kick-off is 9:00 pm Nigerian time at the Al Madina Stadium, the same city where, barely a year ago, they clawed back from two goals down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 and lift a record-extending 10th title.

The Title Defense Begins #TheQueens | #SoarSuperFalcons | #WAFCON2026 pic.twitter.com/xQNIIT7WLo

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) July 28, 2026

The Falcons have proved, time and again, to be a force to be reckoned with in women’s football on the continent and beyond its shores. Having won that 10th crown last year in Morocco, they are back on the very same terrain to hunt an 11th. Line up all sixteen teams in this expanded tournament, and it is still hard to look past the Nigerian side to pack the trophy into their bag once more.

What are the odds for the Super Falcons?

Nigeria are heavy favourites to win a record 11th title, and a group-stage exit would rank as a major shock. The more realistic debate is not whether they escape Group C but which side of the knockout draw they land on and whether a collision with Morocco or South Africa arrives before the final.

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations did not begin with a group format when it launched in 1991. Back then, only eight teams took part, and it was straight into the knockout rounds, where Nigeria brushed Ghana aside in a two-legged affair on their way to the title. The same story played out in 1995. It was in 1998, on home soil, that the first group-stage tournament was organised, and Nigeria treated it as a coronation, sweeping their group with the maximum nine points, fifteen goals scored, and none conceded.

Across the thirteen editions since, that dominance is written into the numbers. In roughly thirty-nine group matches, the Falcons have won thirty, drawn five and lost only four, scoring 101 goals and conceding just fourteen, with a goal against them barely once every three games. Five of those campaigns were flawless nine-point runs: 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014. And in every single edition, without exception, Nigeria has walked out of the group and into the knockouts.

In 2000, Nigeria suffered their first WAFCON draw and conceded for the first time in the group phase, a hint that the field was beginning to close the gap. Two years later, in 2002, they tasted a group defeat yet still lifted the crown. Their genuinely uneasy years were 2008 and 2012, the only two editions in this run when they failed to top their group with authority. On both occasions the title left their hands, and on both occasions it was Equatorial Guinea who seized it. 

Nigeria’s group-stage record across 13 WAFCON editions is 30 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses; 101 scored, and 14 conceded.

The neighbours in Group C

Malawi, known as the Scorchers, arrive as tournament debutants and are rightly cast as outsiders, but they are not here merely for the experience. They won their first COSAFA title in 2023 and carry real danger in sisters Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga, whose pace on the counter can trouble any defence. A 4-0 warm-up loss to Ghana, though, tempered expectations on the eve of the finals.

Meanwhile, Falcons can boast of a strong attacking frontline, especially with the return of Monday Gift, to the team.

Zambia is the reason nobody in the Nigerian camp is relaxing. The 2022 bronze medallists boast one of the most fearsome attacks on the continent, spearheaded by captain Barbra Banda, the 2024 BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, alongside Racheal Kundananji. This is the fixture that will define Nigeria’s group.

Egypt returns after a decade away from the tournament. Untested against Nigeria at this level, they are the great unknown of the group, though by the time the two meet on 5th August, the Falcons may already have qualification wrapped up.

Head-to-heads

Against Malawi, there is no history to lean on; this is the first meeting between the two nations. But Nigeria’s record against debutants is a warning shot in itself: sixteen wins and a single draw in seventeen such matches, sixty-seven goals scored and only four conceded. The lone blemish was a goalless draw with Tunisia in 2008, and, tellingly, that was one of the Falcons’ off years.

Against Zambia, the numbers still favour Nigeria, but not without respect. In four senior meetings, the Falcons have won three to Zambia’s one, outscoring them fifteen goals to one across those games and, most recently, dismantling the Copper Queens 5-0 in the quarter-finals of the last WAFCON. It is dominance, but Zambia has the personnel to make it a contest.

Against Egypt, there is simply no book to open. The two have never met, which makes the final group game a genuine step into the unknown, however academic the stakes may be by then.

Any upsets?

Twice, in 2008 and 2012, a stumble in the group foreshadowed a lost crown, and on both occasions Equatorial Guinea pounced. If the Falcons stumble in the group stages, it has to be from the Zambians. The Copper Queens arrive with pedigree and firepower, and Nigeria has beaten them in three of four meetings.

Malawi, for all their debutant billing, should not be dismissed either. The Chawinga sisters offer pace and an end product on the break, and if Nigeria switch off at the back as they did against Tunisia in 2008, even a first-timer can steal a point.

According to coach Justine Madugu, he said the Falcons won’t underestimate the Malawians today.

All eyes on tomorrow’s clash with Malawi .#TheQueens | #SoarSuperFalcons pic.twitter.com/0jPLMnmvg1

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) July 27, 2026

The group stage has long been the Super Falcons’ fortress, and everything suggests they will march out of Group C as they always have, with their eyes fixed on an unprecedented eleventh crown.

The post Super Falcons set to kickstart WAFCON as Jungle King appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.