The tournament which began on Friday 4th November will climax Saturday 12th November at Moshood Abiola Stadium.
Two matches would take place on the grand finale. Confluence Queens face Nasarawa Amazons at third place, while Edo Queens have a score to settle with Delta Queens in the final.
It will be recalled that Edo Queens, Delta Queens, Confluence Queens and Nasarawa Amazons picked up 19 points, 17 points, 11 points and 10 points respectively during the group stage.
Sheroes Cup (formerly called Naija Ratels Pre-Season Championship then Flying Officers Cup) is an annual preseason tournament for women’s association football teams in Africa. The competition usually feature elite teams from Nigeria Women Football League, as well as neighboring African countries. Since the first edition in 2019, it has been described as the biggest preseason tournament for women club football in Nigeria.
Just before the commencement of the second edition, it was rebranded as “Flying Officers Cup” to honor and immortalise the recently deceased Nigeria first-ever female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile.
In 2021, there was a hundred percent increase in the prize money from the 2020 edition. The first, second, third and fourth placed teams received ₦1,000,000, ₦500,000, ₦300,000 and ₦200,000 respectively.
In October 2022, it was renamed to “Sheroes Cup”.
The competition is founded and financed by Barrister Paul Edeh, through his sport firm domiciled in Benue State. For the first edition, twenty women football clubs in Nigeria was invited but only four decided to honour the invitation. The inaugural tournament was contested by hosts, Naija Ratels; top tier teams, Nasarawa Amazons and Edo Queens; and lower pyramid team, Honey Badgers from Northern Nigerian state of Makurdi. Edo Queens emerged winners following a straight round robin format. All participating teams received free sporting souvenirs, including soccer balls and jerseys.
The second edition saw the introduction of prize money, as well as removing registration fees due to the financial impacts of COVID 19 on participating teams. It was also officially ratified by the Nigeria Women Football League. The tournament venue was relocated from Benue State to Abuja. Bayelsa Queens emerged winners through a more traditional initial group phase, then elimination stages matches format.
The third edition saw the ratification of an organising committee that included many major national stakeholders in women’s football. The prize money was also significantly increased and the tournament was billed to involve other African countries for the first time.
The fourth edition has seen introduction of player of the match award courtesy of Airtel, seminar and award night.
