{"id":16458,"date":"2018-12-03T10:22:17","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T10:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/?p=16458"},"modified":"2019-06-25T13:25:37","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T13:25:37","slug":"awcon-2018-nff-capo-amaju-pinnick-dedicates-falcons-trophy-president-buhari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/awcon-2018-nff-capo-amaju-pinnick-dedicates-falcons-trophy-president-buhari\/","title":{"rendered":"AWCON 2018: NFF capo Amaju Pinnick dedicates Falcons\u2019 trophy to President Buhari"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Melvin Amaju Pinnick had three levels of joy to celebrate on Saturday, as the female national team, Super Falcons won the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON 2018) on his birthday, and he quickly dedicated it to President Muhammadu Buhari.<\/strong><br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Footballlive.ng reports that Pinnick was all smiles after the Falcons won their ninth AWCON title, third back-to-back, and picked several individual honours at the end of the 11th edition of the continental soccer showpiece in Accra, Ghana.<\/p>\n<p>The NFF boss admitted it was a special day for him, after the Falcons overcame a stubborn South African Banyana Banyana squad on penalties, following a scoreless end to 120 minutes of action to retain the title trophy they also won two years ago in Cameroon.<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\n<a class=\"yoast-link-suggestion__value\" href=\"http:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/awcon-2018-cameroon-players-home-vandalized-penalty-miss-nigeria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AWCON 2018: Cameroon Player&#8217;s Home Vandalized After Penalty Miss Against Nigeria<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The latest triumph was achieved despite the Falcons missing top striker, Desire Oparanozie to injury, and on the back of a 75th-minute penalty miss by three-time African Female Footballer of The Year, Asisat Oshoala.<\/p>\n<p>It was also against the backdrop of the Nigerian team having playing consecutive 120-minute matches at the competition, as their semi-final. Clash against Cameroon four days earlier had also going into a shoot-out from the spot.<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\nOpportunities were few and far between in a tight and cagey game in the Ghanaian capital. Both teams watched each other\u2019s heels closely.<\/p>\n<p>Woman-of-the-match, Francisca Ordega, for the Falcons, and AWCON 2018 top scorer, Thembi Kgatlana, on the South African side, came close with sweet touches in the closing stages of the first half.<\/p>\n<p>Just before interval, Rasheedat Ajibade, who had an uncharacteristic off-day, should have done better as the ball spilled to her from a corner kick.<\/p>\n<p>In the 48th minute, Ordega blasted a good chance over the bar, and 14 minutes later, Ngozi Okobi\u2019s good move and pull \u2013out was over hit.<\/p>\n<p>In the 75th minute, Ordega ran determinedly onto a brilliant pass from Okobi, but was scythed by goalkeeper Christen Swart. Zambian referee, Gladys Lengwe awarded a penalty, but Oshoala screwed her shot and it went away.<\/p>\n<p>Okobi and Ordega would miss chances late on, and substitute Nompumelelo Nyandeni came close with five minutes left but goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi, excellent throughout, was on call.<\/p>\n<p>Oluehi would later save from Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo in extra time, just as Oshoala watched a good shot stopped by Swart, and the game dragged on into penalties.<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\nIn the resultant shootout, Onome Ebi missed Nigeria\u2019s first kick, hitting the upright, but she got a respite after Alice Matlou and Ngozi Ebere netted, as Lebohang Ramalepe booted her effort wide.<\/p>\n<p>Rita Chikwelu and Nyandeni scored, as did Chinwendu Ihezuo and Mamello Makhabane, but after Chinaza Uchendu found the roof in a cool manner, Motlhalo watched in agony as Oluehi stretched to stop her kick and hand Nigeria the trophy.<\/p>\n<p>Afterwards, Pinnick, who is also first vice-president of Confederation of African Football (CAF), admitted that the Falcons had made him proud on his birthday.<\/p>\n<p>Pinnick said: \u201cThis is very special for me, coming on my birthday. I am very proud of the Super Falcons of Nigeria, and I congratulate them for doing our country proud.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the Falcons\u2019 ninth African title, so the news is not that they won here. We dedicate this trophy to President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR).<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\n\u201cThe news is that the Nigeria Football Federation will look for the resources to give the team solid preparation, so that this time, we will make a big impact at the FIFA World Cup and not simply go there to make up the number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Credit:\u00a0footballlive.ng<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Melvin Amaju Pinnick had three levels of joy to celebrate on Saturday, as the female national team, Super Falcons won the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON 2018) on his birthday, and he quickly dedicated it to President Muhammadu Buhari. Footballlive.ng reports that Pinnick was all smiles after the Falcons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8272,8417],"tags":[8273,8804,8010,8319],"class_list":{"0":"post-16458","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-awcon-2018","8":"category-featured","9":"tag-awcon-2018","10":"tag-buhari","11":"tag-pinnick-amaju","12":"tag-super-falcons"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Super-fal-n-pinnick.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8jzHl-4hs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16044,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/awcon-2018-nigeria-super-falcons-lose-south-africa\/","url_meta":{"origin":16458,"position":0},"title":"AWCON 2018: Nigeria Super Falcons lose against South Africa","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"November 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Nigeria Super Falcons suffered a surprise defeat against South Africa Banyana Banyana at Cape Coat on Sunday in their opening game in the Africa Women Nations Cup 2018. Nigeria started the game strongly, with Asisat Oshoala and Oparanozie coming close to scoring but squandered several chances. AFCON 2019 Qualifiers: What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AWCON 2018&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AWCON 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/awcon-2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nigeria Super Falcons lose against South Africa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DsTYFlSWoAMdCnv.jpg?fit=842%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DsTYFlSWoAMdCnv.jpg?fit=842%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DsTYFlSWoAMdCnv.jpg?fit=842%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DsTYFlSWoAMdCnv.jpg?fit=842%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16085,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/awcon-2018-nigeria-coach-says-super-falcons-will-win-remaining-matches\/","url_meta":{"origin":16458,"position":1},"title":"AWCON 2018: Nigeria coach says the Super Falcons will win remaining matches","author":"Selasi Fiawoyi","date":"November 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Super Falcons coach Thomas Dennerby has promised Nigerians that his team will win their remaining games and will definitely qualify for the next round in the ongoing Africa Women's Nations Cup. Nigeria lost their first game against South Africa's Banyana Banyana. They will face Zambia, who thrashed Equatorial Guinea 5-0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AWCON 2018&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AWCON 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/awcon-2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Super Falcons coach Thomas Dennerby has promised Nigerians","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DscAe-5WwAAzOAt.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DscAe-5WwAAzOAt.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DscAe-5WwAAzOAt.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DscAe-5WwAAzOAt.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DscAe-5WwAAzOAt.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16441,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/awcon-2018-nigeria-beat-south-africa-penalties-win-ninth-title\/","url_meta":{"origin":16458,"position":2},"title":"AWCON 2018: Nigeria beat South Africa on penalties to win ninth title","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"December 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Nigeria Super Falcons have secured their ninth Africa Cup Of Nations title after beating South Africa's Banyana Banyana on Saturday at the Accra Sports stadium after a thrilling penalty shootout. Nigeria were held by South Africa all through the game as both teams couldn't find the net after 120 minutes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AWCON 2018&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AWCON 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/awcon-2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AWCON 2018: Nigeria beat South Africa on penalties to win ninth title","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/9dea0ea24bbd2c8a7e5ab25d698fa72d_L.jpg?fit=865%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/9dea0ea24bbd2c8a7e5ab25d698fa72d_L.jpg?fit=865%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/9dea0ea24bbd2c8a7e5ab25d698fa72d_L.jpg?fit=865%2C629&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/9dea0ea24bbd2c8a7e5ab25d698fa72d_L.jpg?fit=865%2C629&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16355,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/awcon-2018-south-africa-coach-desiree-ellis-ecstatic-historic-world-cup-qualification\/","url_meta":{"origin":16458,"position":3},"title":"AWCON 2018: South Africa coach Desiree Ellis ecstatic after historic World Cup Qualification","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"November 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"South Africa coach Desiree Ellis has expressed her joy and excitement after guiding her team to a historic World Cup Qualification. South Africa beat Mali on Tuesday to achieve World Cup qualification spot and also progressing into the final of the African Women's Cup of Nations. \"This is not about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AWCON 2018&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AWCON 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/awcon-2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AWCON 2018: South Africa coach Desiree Ellis ecstatic after historic World Cup Qualification","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/south-africa.jpg?fit=1024%2C573&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/south-africa.jpg?fit=1024%2C573&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/south-africa.jpg?fit=1024%2C573&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/south-africa.jpg?fit=1024%2C573&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16328,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/awcon-2018-nigeria-super-falcons-beat-cameroon-reach-finals\/","url_meta":{"origin":16458,"position":4},"title":"AWCON 2018: Nigeria Super Falcons Beat Cameroon To Reach Finals","author":"Selasi Fiawoyi","date":"November 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Nigerian Super Falcons booked a place in the final of the AWCON 2018\u00a0 after beating resilient Cameroon 4-2 on penalties. The Super Falcons came into the game as favorites after recovering from a poor start against South Africa. They were also looking to retain the AWCON title. The first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AWCON 2018&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AWCON 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/awcon-2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Nigerian Super Falcons booked a place in the final","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/falcons.png?fit=661%2C530&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/falcons.png?fit=661%2C530&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/falcons.png?fit=661%2C530&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15882,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/nigeria-arrive-ghana-ahead-awcon\/","url_meta":{"origin":16458,"position":5},"title":"Nigeria arrive in Ghana ahead of AWCON","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"November 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Super Falcons of Nigeria have arrived in Ghana for the 11th edition of the Africa Women's Cup of Nations. Nigeria touched down in Accra on Wednesday evening and immediately left for Cape Coast, where they will be based for their group B games. A delegation comprising of 21 players\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AWCON 2018&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AWCON 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/awcon-2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Super Falcons of Nigeria have arrived in Ghana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/FALCONS.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/FALCONS.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/FALCONS.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/FALCONS.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/FALCONS.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16458"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21243,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16458\/revisions\/21243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}