Avre, Mmadu blast NFF boss over lesbianism jibes

Two Nigerian women’s football legends and former Super Falcons stars, Patience Avre and Maureen Mmadu, both based abroad have lambasted the vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF),Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, over his lesbianism jibes in Nigerian women’s football.
Avre, who played in three FIFA World Cup finals Sweden 95, USA 99 and USA 2003, told Sunday Telegraph from her base in the United States that, the statement made by the NFF Vice President that women’s football in Nigeria failed to attract sponsorship from top corporate bodies due to the scourge of lesbianism, was nothing but derogatory.


She said: “You don’t have to disrespect or insult people to want to communicate or point out a problem. And the truth is that, in as much as lesbianism is an anti-societal norm and exists within the team, l will want to say that, that is not one of the pressing problems or challenges of the female national team the Super Falcons and the women’s soccer league in Nigeria.”

Avre stated that: “The claim made by the NFF Vice President is so bogus and untrue, as I played in the Nigerian women’s league for so many years and also played actively in the national team. What the NFF Vice President just exhibited is lack of inadequate exposure on his own side.
When you have administrators with modern day ideology and what it takes to administer women’s football administratively, financially, psychologically, mentally and educationally, l am sure the game would take a new and better dimension.

A lot is needed to bring the team to readiness point of competing against top opponents in the world. But unfortunately, Akinwunmi just showed that he doesn’t have all these, which was the main reason behind his unguarded statements.
The best bet for him now is to resign honourably as he has openly declared his hatred for women’s football which an integral part of football not only in Nigeria but at the international level.

“For women’s football to be successful in Nigeria the way it was years back, we need people that are not just sound in the game administratively, but those who knows how to practically execute what the game needs so as to achieve the desire results. Bad enough the current NFF president does not have any of these.”