Nigeria captain Rasheedat Ajibade on the team's winning mentality
26th September 2025
Nigeria women's national team captain Rasheedat Ajibade insists it was important for the team to clinch their 10th WAFCON title because of how they have instilled a winning mentality amongst each other.
The Super Falcons beat the hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final having kept a clean sheet throughout the tournament, only first conceding against South Africa in the semifinals.
Speaking to SABC Sport, Ajibade, who recently joined PSG from Atletico Madrid says they had a great strategy ahead of the continental tournament.
"I've done so many leadership courses, I've done a whole lot of self development. So, for me when I was going to the tournament I felt that we need to have a plan, sometimes it's not just about coming into the camp because us footballers sometimes we just feel like, well just play football and get up but sometimes it's beyond football,” Ajibade said.
“We should treat it like a normal occupation, like a normal job where they have goals, they have clear visions of what they want to do before. Mission and vision statements, staff like that.
“I think it's very important to help the players or to help the team. It's very important to help the team to have clear guidance, so we can all be accountable for each other.
“Going to the camp, we had a plan and we wrote everything on the black board and we were all responsible for it. Before every game we will remind ourselves, we all came up with this together and remember if we came up with this, we all have to be accountable because it's not just one person's goal, it's a team goal and for us to achieve it, we have to be aligned and be on the same page."
Nigeria have in the last four years participated in two WAFCON’s, the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Olympics.
Their number one goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie is also ranked fourth in the World according to the latest Ballon d'Or.
The Lady with the Blue Hair as Ajibade is known says they know how important it is to raise the Nigerian flag high because of how people in the West African country love football.
"We know how much joy football brings to the nation, so we understand the responsibility and we were ready to take on that challenge, in spite of all the other challenges and disadvantages in the team,” she added.
“Just look beyond those challenges and rise up to expectation and ultimately, God's grace, God's mercy, we are grateful and we just want to continue in that form."
