Winning bronze medal at FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup is a great achievement – Taiwo Afolabi
By Saheed Afolabi
In this interview with Saheed Afolabi, Nigeria U17 Women’s bronze medalist star, Taiwo Afolabi shares her experiences at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India and her expectations in life.
How do you feel making the Nigeria U17 Women’s team and winning the bronze medal at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup?
Firstly, I feel grateful to Allah for making it possible for me to make the final list and also it was a dream come true for me to get the priceless moment of representing my country Nigeria at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India and winning the bronze medal made it an awesome moment together.
It wasn’t what I was expecting honestly, but I really worked hard to get to this stage of my life.
How did you develop Interest in football and what challenges did you face trying to play football?
Football is a God given gift and talent to me, football is what I have strong passion for and me having a supportive brother that motivates me make it easier for me. The only challenge I had when I started football was I being the only girl playing in the midst of boys and people will be like, you can’t play with them because you don’t have their strength, you can’t match their energy, they will injure you but those days playing with boys helped me to become a better player today.
You scored a precious goal in the world cup, how did you feel scoring that great goal?
Words can’t explain how I feel at that moment scoring that special goal because the ball came to my right foot and I used the side of my boot to execute the ball which landed at the back of the net, I felt on top of the world at that moment and it was a great feeling scoring in the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India.
What went through your mind stepping out on the pitch and making your debut at the U17 world cup?
What went through my mind was for God to make everything easier for me so that, I can make Nigeria, my parent, family and myself proud. At that moment, I felt the presence of the international stage and I’m happy we were able to achieve a place on the medal podium at the end of the tournament.
Who is your role model in football and which European club is your favorite to play for?
Luka Modric is my role model in football, I love the way he plays and we play same role in the midfield, he’s someone that I’m looking forward to meet one day.
Lyon is also a club that I’m looking forward to play in, they are a big club in Europe and they have won lots of laurels in the international stage.
How supportive are your parents to your career?
They are very supportive to my career, they give me their 100% support because football is what I find happiness doing and since they can’t deprive me if my happiness, they stand strong by me.
I’m so happy to have the type of parental support I enjoy from my parent including my siblings also.
What’s your Happiest moment so far?
Getting the chance to represent my country at the international stage and winning the bronze medal at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup remains my happiest moment in life.
Where do we see you in the next 5 years?
By God’s grace in the next 5 years, you will see me playing in the biggest league in the world and the best team.
