Sports

Favour Ofili Qualifies for Women’s 200 Metres Race Semi-Final in Paris 2024

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2 years ago

August 5, 2024

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Nigeria’s Favour Ofili has qualified for the women’s 200 metres semi-final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Ofili secured her spot with a season-best time of 22.24 seconds, winning heat 6 of the event. She outpaced notable competitors, including Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Gambia’s Gina Bass-Bittaye.

The 21-year-old athlete’s achievement comes amid controversy, as she was denied participation in the 100-metre race due to administrative failures by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC). Ofili expressed her frustration on social media, highlighting the negligence that cost her the opportunity.

“It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 metres at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity. For what?” she tweeted.

In response, Sports Minister John Owan Enoh announced an investigation into the exclusion of Favour Ofili from the 100m women’s event. He acknowledged that similar issues have affected athletes from other countries but emphasized his concern for Nigeria’s accountability.

“I have been duly informed that some other countries have similar issues, and these aforementioned bodies do not want to open a floodgate that would become difficult to manage. Howbeit, I am not concerned about other countries.

My interest is with my own country Nigeria and who is responsible for the nonlisting of Favour Ofili,” Enoh stated.

He further noted that World Athletics had indicated the AFN should have addressed the omission when the final list was published in July.

“At what point did her name drop out of the 100m race? Who’s responsible for this? What’s the motivation behind this? What’s the trail of communication from AFN to NOC and to IOC and/or World Athletics?” Enoh questioned.

Despite the setback, Favour Ofili’s impressive performance in the 200 metres brings hope and pride to her supporters as she advances to the semi-finals.

Sports

Countries That Qualified For 2027 Women’s World Cup As Cameroon Beat Nigeria In Quarter- Final

Published

36 minutes ago

August 10, 2026

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Cameroon on Sunday secured their place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup after edging Nigeria’s Super Falcons 1-0 in their 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final encounter.

The victory also sent the Indomitable Lionesses into the WAFCON semi-finals, securing their qualification for next year’s global tournament in Brazil.

The 2026 WAFCON doubles as Africa’s qualifying competition for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with the four semi-finalists earning the continent’s automatic tickets to the tournament.

Cameroon join Algeria and Morocco, who had already sealed their places after reaching the semi-finals on Saturday.

Brazil will host the 2027 tournament, while the remaining qualifying places are being determined through continental competitions across the various confederations.

See full list of countries that qualified:

Host:

Brazil

AFC:

Australia
China PR
Japan
Korea DPR
Korea Republic
Philippines

CAF:

Algeria
Cameroon
Morocco

Concacaf:

None yet

CONMEBOL:

Argentina
Colombia

OFC:

New Zealand

UEFA:

Denmark
France
Germany
Spain

More teams are expected to secure qualification as the various continental qualification campaigns conclude.

The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will feature 32 teams.

Sports

Just in: Unlucky Sunday for Nigeria as Super Falcons, Flying Eagles crumble, World Cup hopes dimmed

Published

5 hours ago

August 10, 2026

Austin Ojomah

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It is an unlucky Sunday for two National teams of Nigeria, the Super Falcons fell to Cameroon just as Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have been knocked out of the race for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup after suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat to Burkina Faso in the final of the 2026 WAFU Zone B U-20 Championship.

The defeat at the Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, also ended Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

The WAFU Zone B final carried added importance, as the winner was guaranteed a place at the 2027 U-20 AFCON, which will serve as the qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

With Burkina Faso emerging victorious, the Young Stallions secured the region’s ticket, while Nigeria’s hopes of returning to the global youth tournament came to an end.

Burkina Faso took control of the final from the opening whistle, scoring three goals within the first 15 minutes and leaving the Flying Eagles with a huge deficit.

Nigeria struggled to contain the Young Stallings’ attacking pressure and could not recover from the early setback before the break.

Coach Abdu Maikaba’s side attempted to fight back after the interval but failed to produce the response required to turn the game around.

Burkina Faso eventually added another goal to complete a convincing 4-1 victory, while Nigeria’s consolation effort was not enough to change the outcome.

The result was particularly painful for the Flying Eagles after Burkina Faso had already defeated them 2-0 during the group stage.

Nigeria had hoped to avenge that earlier loss in the final but instead suffered another defeat to the Young Stallions when the stakes were highest.

The Flying Eagles had reached the final after overcoming Côte d’Ivoire in a dramatic semi-final.

Sports

WAFCON 2026: Super Falcons suffer shock defeat as Cameroon gets automatic ticket for World Cup

Published

6 hours ago

August 9, 2026

Austin Ojomah

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The defending champions Nigeria Super Falcons suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Cameroon at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, ending their WAFCON title defense and missing an automatic spot for the World Cup.

A 20th-minute free-kick by Maeva Nyadjou sealed the historic win for the Indomitable Lionesses .

Breakthrough: Teenage defender Maeva Nyadjou scored from a powerful 20th-minute free-kick to put Cameroon ahead.Nigerian Pressure: Nigeria dominated possession and created numerous chances, racking up heavy pressure and shots on goal, but couldn’t break down a resolute Cameroonian defense.Goheroics: Cameroon’s goalkeeper put in a player-of-the-match performance, denying late attacks including a final-moments chance from Esther Okoronkwo.Consequences of the LossWorld Cup Qualification: Cameroon booked an automatic ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and advanced to the WAFCON semi-finals against Morocco.Play-off Path: Nigeria’s title defense is over, but they move into a Wednesday play-in match against South Africa to chase a remaining inter-confederation play-off spot.Watch the match highlights and key moments from the dramatic quarter-final encounter: