The chief coach and the captain of the returnee women’s league club, Omidiran Babes Football Club of Osogbo, have expressed optimism that all is not lost concerning the club’s promotion to the NWFL Championship after two attempts to return to top-flight football in Nigeria.
Omidiran Babes Chief coach, Liadi Bashiru, told NWFL Media at the Dipo Dina International Stadium, Ijebu-Ode Thursday that, despite losing two games and drawing one out of three matches played so far in the 2021 NWFL Nationwide, and occupying the bottom spot on the league table, he is still optimistic that his girls will gain promotion to the NWFL Championship.
“We still have two matches to play on, one each on Friday and Saturday, there is a possibility that we pick the six points at stake to move up to seven points to gain the much-desired promotion.
“We were affected in our first three matches by poor preparations, but my girls are picking up as the league progresses. In our game on Thursday against Moje Queens, my girls scored first but lost the game 2-1 after committing two defensive errors.
“We have corrected that now in our light training session after Thursday’s game, and we are hoping to make bigger improvement against Oasis Ladies in the attempt to pick six points from our two remaining matches. Nothing is impossible.”
While the team captain, Ajayi Oluwapelumi Rhoda, also expressed optimism that, Omidiran Babes will not leave Ijebu Ode empty-handed after recording just one point in three matches.
She noted that: “The club would have been fantastic in this year’s NWFL Nationwide but was deprived by poor preparations and the fact that early this year, some qualified players, left the club, and the coaches had to hurriedly find replacements for these players. This affected our preparations for the Nationwide League. But we believe so much that all is not lost for Omidiran Babes. We have played in the Nationwide League twice consecutively. We are desirous of moving to the next level.”
Omidiran Babes coach, Liadi Bashiru, went on to commend the board of the NWFL headed by Aisha Falode, for the further development of the women’s league in Nigeria.
He said: “Last season we were in Benin City for the NWFL Nationwide and it was just a league for three to four clubs and at the end of the challenge, all the teams were promoted to the Championship. But it is different this time around when we have a total of 22 clubs. with 10 clubs in Abuja and 12 in Ijebu Ode. You must complete and work very hard to gain a promotion. If you don’t do well, you can’t make it. The stiff competition made the difference and this is the way forward to the development of the women’s league. We say thank you to Madam Aisha Falode and her team for helping to move women forward in Nigeria and by extension, in Africa.”
