Nigeria's Streak of Big W!

As a child, I grew up among boys, so I automatically picked up every activity they did. I learnt how to run very fast, I could balance a bucket of water on my head without supporting it, I ate too fast and walked too quickly, and I played 'police and thief' games too much. I sustained injuries that have left scars on my soft skin. Above all, I learnt how to play football with boys.

When I was younger, football was that game that tied my brother, cousins and neighbours in cordiality. After which, they'd throw banters at each other, and the losing team would accuse the winning team of cheating. That was the history of football for me.

There has always been this sense of happiness and freedom settled around soccer.

As I grew older and began to mix more with people both physically and online, I realized one way Africans bonded is through our common interest, a football game. 7 out of 10 African male children grew up playing football either as a physical sport or as a digital game. However, in recent times, ladies have developed a great interest in the game.

What makes football more interesting are the 'bants' attached to it.

Currently, Africa is in the AFCON (African Cup of Nations) season and the participants (athletes and supporters) did not come to play at all.

The most important reason for hosting AFCON annually in Africa is to increase the exposure it brings to African football. The tournament ensures the sport remains in the spotlight and generates continuous interest. In as much as AFCON is aimed at promoting a brotherly feeling amongst the competitors, their various supporters are going wild at each other, this year.

AFCON commenced with a round of 16 on Saturday, 27th January 2024 where Nigeria played against Cameroon winning by 2-0. This win got Nigeria to progress to the Quarterfinals where they won against Angola by 1 goal.

On Wednesday, 7th February, Nigeria played against South Africa. Of all the games Nigeria played in this AFCON season, this was the most tense of them all. Nigeria started well and was already ahead of South Africa by 1 goal. After the supposed second goal by Nigeria, VAR was checked (till now, I still do not understand how that adds up.) and South Africa got to play a penalty which resulted in a 1-1 couple of minutes to the end of the game. 120 minutes later, the game ended with a draw.

This brings us to the highlight of the game. The penalty is to determine who qualifies for Finals.

It was an intense moment for the two sides, that of the players and the tension of the supporters.

May their souls rest in Peace.

However, there can only be one winner as the man of the hour, Stanely Nwabali saves two penalties which made Nigeria progress to 4-2 from the shootout

Big W for Nigeria as we qualified for finals. Although, what's a win without throwing shades?

Sorry, but Nigerians are that petty especially when they are nursing a hurt. At that point, we were currently trying to recover from Nigeria's loss at the Grammy's Award as none of our artists brought it home. Trust us to feel compensated by this win. Hence, it was too personal for a lot of people.

I mean, we went as far as donating our politicians to God for a W.