Skip to main content

Nigerian Female Football: Ambivalence and Struggle in the Shadows

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Abstract

This chapter analyzes Nigerian women’s football, with a particular focus on the national team, to better understand its status in the rapidly changing world of women’s football. This examination of news and social media text about the Nigerian women’s team at the 2019 World Cup explores how those texts intersect with Nigeria’s social environment to produce and reproduce a different narrative for women’s football in the country. The authors interpret the struggles of women footballers in the country to understand the challenges they face and the methods they use to confront them. The work also examines tweets that surround the struggle of these women during the 2019 World Cup in France to understand public conceptions of Nigerian women’s football, its existence, triumphs, and challenges.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adedeji, J. (1978). The acceptance of Nigerian women in sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 13(1), 39–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agergaard, S., & Botelho, V. (2014). The way out? African players’ migration to Scandinavian women’s football. Sport in Society, 17(4), 523–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akindutire, I. (1992). Sport as a manifestation of cultural heritage in Nigeria. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 27(1), 27–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amadiume, I. (1997). Reinventing Africa: Matriarchy, religion, culture. Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aminat, A. (2016). Socio-cultural perspectives of sport participation among female students in Tertiary Institution in Kano State, Nigeria. World Scientific News, 25, 37–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anaza, E., & McDowell, J. (2017). An investigation of constraints restricting urban Nigerian women from participating in recreational sport activities. Journal of Leisure Research, 45(3), 324–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bichi, M. (2018, May 22–25). Islam, Muslim omen and sport participation. [Paper presentation] 2nd National Conference at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, M., Warner, S., & Bruening, J. (2008). More than just letting them play: Parental influence on women’s lifetime sport involvement. Sociology of Sport Journal, 25, 538–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elendu, I., & Okanezi, B. (2013). Overcoming limitations of women’s involvement in sports and physical exercises in Nigeria: Implications for national productivity and economy. Journal of Education and Practice, 4(4), 137–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engh, M. (2011). Tackling femininity: The heterosexual paradigm and women’s soccer in South Africa. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 28(1), 137–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeroh, E. J. (2012). The multi-dimensional relationship between religion and sport. Journal of Physical Education and Sports Management, 3(1), 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogu, O. (1994, March). Parental influence of sports participation among secondary school students in Imo State, Nigeria. Kinesilogist, 1(1), 151–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogunleye, A., & Adebayo, S. (2010). Influence of age, marital status and environment on sexism Nigeria. Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology, 7(1), 4–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Okonkwor, O., & Egaga, P. (2018). Functional strides to sustainable development goals (SDGs): The critical role of mobilizing Nigerian women for active participation in sport leadership. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health, 5(2), 255–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onwumechili, C. (2011). Urbanization and female football in Nigeria: History and struggle in a ‘man’s game’. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 28(15), 2206–2219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Onwumechili, C., & Goodman, J. (2020). Nigeria, women’s football, and resisting the second fiddle. In T. Cleveland, T. Kaur, & G. Akindes (Eds.), Sports in Africa: Past and present (pp. 99–107). Ohio University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onwumechili, C., & Jenkins, K. (in press). Media framing of women’s football in Nigeria: From early 20th century to present. The International Journal of the History of Sport.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oyewumi, O. (1997). The invention of women: Making an African sense of western gender discourses. University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vipene, J. B. (2009). Factors influencing Nigerian females’ involvement in competitive sports. African Journal for Contemporary Issues in Education, 4(1), 76–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walseth, K. (2006). Young Muslim women and sport: The impact of identity work. Leisure Studies, 25(1), 75–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (n.d.). Population growth (annual %) – Nigeria. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW?locations=NG

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chuka Onwumechili .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Onwumechili, C., Jenkins, K. (2021). Nigerian Female Football: Ambivalence and Struggle in the Shadows. In: Yanity, M., Sarver Coombs, D. (eds) 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75401-3_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics