Niger women's national football team

 Niger
Association Niger Football Federation
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation WAFU (West Africa)
FIFA code NIG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current n/a
Highest n/a
Lowest n/a
First international
 Niger 0–10 Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
(2 September 2007, Ouagadougou)
Biggest defeat
 Niger 0–10 Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
(2 September 2007, Ouagadougou)

The Niger women's national football team is a FIFA-recognised team representing Niger in international association football matches. The team has played in two FIFA recognised matches, both of which were losses to Burkina Faso women's national football team in 2007. There is an under-20 women's national team who were supposed to participate in the 2002 African Women U-19 Championship but withdrew before playing a game. There are problems that impact the development of the women's game in Africa that effect Niger.

Background and development

Early development of the women's game at the time colonial powers brought football to the continent was limited as colonial powers in the region tended to take male concepts of patriarchy and women's participation in sport with them to local cultures that had similar concepts already embedded in them.[1] The lack of later development of the national team on a wider international level symptomatic of all African teams is a result of several factors, including limited access to education, poverty amongst women in the wider society, and fundamental inequality present in the society that occasionally allows for female specific human rights abuses.[2] When quality female football players are developed, they tend to leave for greater opportunities abroad.[3] Continent wide, funding is also an issue, with most development money coming from FIFA, not the national football association.[3] Future, success for women's football in Africa is dependent on improved facilities and access by women to these facilities. Attempting to commercialise the game and make it commercially viable is not the solution, as demonstrated by the current existence of many youth and women's football camps held throughout the continent.[1]

Niger Football Federation was founded in 1967 and became a FIFA affiliate that same year.[4][5] The FIFA trigramme is NIG.[6] The national association does not have a full-time staffer dedicated to women, and there are no organisational or constitutional provisions specifically pertaining to the women's game.[4]

No organised women's football programme existed in the country despite football being one of the most popular sports in the country by 2009.[7] For women though, basketball is the most popular participation sport.[4] In 2006, there were zero registered female players and zero registered football clubs for women only.[4] Rights to broadcast the 2011 Women's World Cup in the country were bought by the African Union of Broadcasting and Supersport International.[8]

Team

In 1985, almost no country in the world had a women's national football team[9] including Niger who officially had no women's national senior A team before 2006[4] and only had their first FIFA recognised international in 2007 when they competed at the Tournoi de Cinq Nations held in Ouagadougou. On 2 September, they lost to Burkina Faso 0-10. On 6 September, they lost to Burkina Faso 0-5.[10][11] The country did not have a team competing in the 2010 African Women's Championships during the preliminary rounds[12] or the 2011 All Africa Games.[13] In June 2012, the team was not ranked in the world by FIFA.[14] The country has never been ranked by FIFA.[15]

The country has had a Niger women's national under-19 team who have competed in the 2002 African Women U-19 Championship, the first edition of the competition to be held. They had a bye in the first round. In the quarterfinals, they were supposed to play Morocco but Niger withdrew from the competition.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Peter Alegi (2 March 2010). African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World's Game. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-89680-278-0. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Jean Williams (15 December 2007). A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football. Berg. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-84520-674-1. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  3. 1 2 Gabriel Kuhn (24 February 2011). Soccer Vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics. PM Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-60486-053-5. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 FIFA (2006). "Women's Football Today" (PDF): 145. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Goal! Football: Niger" (PDF). FIFA. 21 April 2009. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Tom Dunmore (16 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7188-5. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  7. ↑ "Goal! Football: Niger" (PDF). FIFA. 21 April 2009. p. 4. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011TM Media Rights Licensees" (PDF). FIFA. 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  9. ↑ Chrös McDougall (1 January 2012). Soccer. ABDO. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-61783-146-1. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "Tournoi de Cinq Nations (Women) 2007". Rsssf. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Niger: Fixtures and Results". FIFA. 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "Fixtures — African Women Championship 2010 - CAF". Cafonline.com. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
  13. ↑ "Groups & standings — All Africa Games women 2011 - CAF". Africa: CAF. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "The FIFA Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Niger: FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "African Women U-19 Championship 2002". Rsssf. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
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