By Saheed Afolabi
The Chairperson of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), Aisha Falode was one of the speakers at the 2022 Edition of Ladies In Sports International (LIS) Conference held at the Eko Hotels And Suites, Lagos on Thursday.
Aisha Falode, the Chairperson of the oldest women’s league in Africa, spoke about the reform that the league has been undergoing since she took over in 2017 as well as the challenges the league board has faced and are still facing in their bid to continue raising the bar on quality and professionalism.
The ace Sports Journalist and Football Administrator who has been a great inspiration to alot young Ladies shed more light on the progress of the NWFL under her leadership.
“We are a role model to other African countries,” she noted. “The football associations of other countries write to us to give them our template.”
The Aisha Falode-led board has created a structure that offers more competitions and priorities the welfare of players and referees.
“You cannot sell yourself short,” Falode stated.
It may have taken five years for the first sponsorship deal to eventually arrive, but Falode is proud of the work they have put in to transform the women’s league in Nigeria, in spite of having “next to zero support”.
The Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) recently signed a multi-million naira partnership deal ahead of the NWFL Premiership Super Six scheduled to take place in Benin from 16-22 May 2022.
Falode, who also pointed out that “we must begin to blow our own trumpet” used some of her time on stage to call on more companies to invest in women’s football in Nigeria with the emphasis that “football today is big business”.