Football in Nigeria - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Football is the most popular sport in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. The Nigeria national football team

Nigeria national football team

The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

competes regularly for international titles and many Nigerian footballers compete in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, particularly in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Nigeria

Nigeria

has one of the finest national teams in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

and has produced many notable footballers.

The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria

Nigeria

and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Association

Nigeria Football Association

The Nigeria Football Federation organises domestic and international football in Nigeria. It was formally launched in 1945 and formed the first Nigerian national football team in 1949. It joined FIFA and the CAF in 1959...

. According to the FIFA World Rankings

FIFA World Rankings

The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...

, Nigeria, at 39th, are currently the 5th best team in the Confederation of African Football

Confederation of African Football

The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...

.

The Nigeria national football team

Nigeria national football team

played their first international match against Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone national football team

The Sierra Leone national football team, nicknamed the Leone Stars, is the national team of Sierra Leone and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association...

in Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

on 8 October 1949http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/sier-intres.html. Nigeria won 2-0. Their biggest win recorded was 10-1 against Benin

Benin national football team

The Benin national football team, nicknamed Les Écureuils , is the national football team of Benin and is controlled by the Fédération Béninoise de Football. They were known as the Dahomey national football team until 1975, when Dahomey became Benin. They have never made the World Cup but have...

.

Nigeria

Nigeria

's youth teams won the inaugural FIFA U-17 World Cup

FIFA U-17 World Cup

The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to the FIFA U-17 World Championship and known by its current name since 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by Fédération Internationale de Football...

in 1985

1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship

The 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship was held in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Dalian in People's Republic of China from July 31, 1985 to August 11, 1985...

as well as in 1993

1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship

The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993...

and in 2007

2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup

The FIFA U-17 World Cup 2007 was held in the Korea Republic between 18 August and 9 September 2007. For this event, the number of teams had been expanded from 16 to 24, with the top two of each group and the four best third-place teams advancing to the Round of 16...

. The under-17 team is known as the Golden Eaglets while the Under-20 team

Nigeria national under-20 football team

Nigeria U-20 men's national soccer team, also known as Nigeria Under-20s or nicknamed Flying Eagles, is the youth team for national soccer in Nigeria...

is known as the "Flying Eagles".

Nigeria's Flying Eagles qualified for the first time to represent Africa

Africa

in the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship

1983 FIFA World Youth Championship

The 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship, the fourth edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Mexico from June 2 to June 19, 1983. The tournament took place in seven venues — Guadalajara, Irapuato, León, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla and Toluca — where a total of 32 matches were...

in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Although Nigeria

Nigeria

did not go beyond the first round, they beat the highly rated USSR 1-0 and held the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

to a goalless draw.

In 1985, the under-17 football team went to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

and conquered the world in the first ever FIFA U-17 World Championship. The victory took Nigerian football to a high pedestal, setting the stage for a respect of Nigeria in international competitions. To prove a point of Nigeria's new found strength in football, the under-20 team went to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship and lost narrowly in the final to Portugal

Portugal national under-20 football team

The Portugal national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal....

. The team pulled off the now-legendary "Miracle at Damman", erasing a 4-0 deficit to the Soviet Union to tie and then win by penalties.
In 2007, the under-17 squad were crowned world champions in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

for the 3rd time. Nigeria has been chosen to host the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup

The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from October 24 to November 15, 2009.The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating 1-0 the host team, Nigeria...

.

The 1996 under-23 team won the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

in the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

held in Atlanta. After defeating Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

by 4 - 3, they won the final against Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

3 - 2.

The women's national team (the Super Falcons) has been a dominant force on the African continent since its inception. They have qualified for every FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup

The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the...

and won the first seven CAF Women's Championship

CAF Women's Championship

The African Women's Championship is a biennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Confederation of African Football . Nine tournaments have been held, with the current champions being Nigeria...

s before having their run end in 2008 against Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea women's national football team

The Equatorial Guinea women's national football team is the women's national team for Equatorial Guinea. Their nickname is the Nzalang Nacional.They defeated South Africa 2–1 in an Olympic Games Qualifier on February 18, 2007, but lost the return leg 4–2...

. Great players for the Falcons include Mercy Akide

Mercy Akide

Mercy Akide Udoh is a former Nigerian football player.-Early life:Mercy started playing football at the age of five with her brothers Seleipiri and Ipali in the sandy field of Bundu Waterside, close to Port Harcourt Prisons in Port Harcourt...

, Maureen Mmadu

Maureen Mmadu

Maureen Mmadu is a Nigerian football midfielder who last played for Linköpings FC in the Swedish women's 1st division Damallsvenskan.-Career:She previously played for Klepp IL in the Norwegian Toppserien...

and Perpetua Nkwocha

Perpetua Nkwocha

Perpetua Ijeoma Nkwocha is a Nigerian female professional footballer, who currently plays for Swedish Damallsvenskan club Sunnanå SK...

See also