At the Imo State Governor's lodge, three days after the final in Rabat, Hope Uzodimma posed with the Super Falcons from his state. Chiamaka Nnadozie was there. So were Jennifer Echegini, Osinachi Ohale, Oluchi Oluehi, Chinwendu Ihezuo and Anna Imo. Michelle Alozie, the seventh, had already flown back to the United States, TheNiche reported.
Nigeria had come from two goals down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 on 26 July 2025. It was a tenth African title, sealed by Echegini late on after Esther Okoronkwo's penalty and Folashade Ijamilusi's equaliser, according to CAF.
Then came the receptions.
Governors who had watched the same final as everyone else began to claim their own, one state at a time, so that the map of where the champions of Africa come from was drawn not by the NFF but by Government Houses, which is precisely why it helps anyone trying to answer the question honestly. Fourteen months on, the mood is very different. The Falcons fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the WAFCON 2026 quarter-finals. They then lost a World Cup play-off 2-1 to South Africa on 13 August. Days later the NFF relieved Justine Madugu and his crew of their duties.
On 29 September 2026 the federation released a 28-player list under interim coach Augustine Eguavoen (Daily Trust, Pulse Sports). The opponents are Comoros, in a 2028 Olympic qualifier on 9 and 13 October at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo (Voice of Nigeria). That is the squad we map below. For the men, see our guide to Super Eagles players and their state of origin.
The squad, player by player
A word on method first. A state appears in the table only when a governor, a newspaper or a published biography says so. Where nothing reliable exists, we have written “not publicly confirmed” rather than guess from a surname.
| Player | Position | Club | State of origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiamaka Nnadozie | Goalkeeper | Brighton & Hove Albion (England) | Imo |
| Comfort Erhabor | Goalkeeper | Crystal Palace (England)* | Not publicly confirmed |
| Christiana Uzoma | Goalkeeper | Edo Queens | Not publicly confirmed |
| Michelle Alozie | Defender | Chicago Stars (USA) | Imo |
| Shukurat Oladipo | Defender | AS Roma (Italy) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Farida Abdulwahab | Defender | Nasarawa Amazons | Not publicly confirmed |
| Glory Ogbonna | Defender | Besiktas (Turkey) | Abia |
| Oluwatosin Demehin | Defender | Benfica (Portugal) | Ondo |
| Glory Edet | Defender | Bayelsa Queens | Not publicly confirmed |
| Ashleigh Plumptre | Defender | Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Tumininu Adeshina | Defender | Edo Queens | Not publicly confirmed |
| Christy Ucheibe | Midfielder | Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) | Abia |
| Joy Igbokwe | Midfielder | Nasarawa Amazons | Not publicly confirmed |
| Favour Nkwocha | Midfielder | FC Robo Queens | Not publicly confirmed |
| Fatimoh Solaty | Midfielder | Nasarawa Amazons | Not publicly confirmed |
| Suliat Abideen | Midfielder | Fenerbahce (Turkey) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Toni Payne | Midfielder | Inter Milan (Italy) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Jennifer Echegini | Midfielder | Paris Saint-Germain (France) | Imo |
| Rasheedat Ajibade | Forward | Paris Saint-Germain (France) | Osun |
| Asisat Oshoala | Forward | Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) | Lagos (Ikorodu) |
| Flourish Sabastine | Forward | Benfica (Portugal) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Shakirat Moshood | Forward | Torreense (Portugal) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Gift Monday | Forward | Washington Spirit (USA) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Joy Omewa | Forward | BK Hacken (Sweden) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Blessing Nkor | Forward | Dynamo Brest (Belarus) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Oluwakemi Adegbuyi | Forward | Edo Queens | Not publicly confirmed |
| Janet Akekoromowei | Forward | Benfica (Portugal) | Not publicly confirmed |
| Uchenna Kanu | Forward | Cruz Azul (Mexico) | Abia |
*Clubs are as listed by the NFF on 29 September 2026, except Comfort Erhabor, who joined Crystal Palace from Portsmouth in September 2026. That leaves 9 of 28 players with a state on record.
South-East: Imo and Abia
Uzodimma's reception in July 2025 explains all three Imo entries. He wrote: “It was particularly moving to witness the outstanding contributions of Imo State daughters, whose talent and dedication were in full display” (TheNiche). Nnadozie was born in Orlu, says Pulse Sports. She signed for Rivers Angels in Port Harcourt in 2016 and won the league with them. Alozie, raised in California, is the daughter of Nigerian parents from Imo State. Echegini was born in the Netherlands.
Abia's claim is older. After the 2023 World Cup, Governor Alex Otti said he had “received our Super Falcons players from Abia State (Uchenna Kanu, Esther Okoronkwo, Christy Ucheibe, and Glory Ogbonna)”, BusinessDay reported. Three of the four are in Eguavoen's list. Ucheibe's road ran through Nasarawa Amazons in 2018, Ogbonna's through Edo Queens between 2019 and 2021.
Kanu went through Southeastern University in the United States.
South-West: Osun, Ondo and Lagos
Ademola Adeleke's message in 2023 left no doubt. “This morning I received Osun State-born Nigeria Super Falcons players, Rasheedat Ajibade and Rofiat Imuran” (BusinessDay). There is a wrinkle. A 2022 Legit.ng profile gives the captain's state of origin as Kaduna. We follow the governor and flag the discrepancy. Her club story is clearer. From 2013 until 2018 she played for FC Robo in Lagos, captain from 2017, before Avaldsnes in Norway signed her. Read the full story in our Rasheedat Ajibade biography.
Oshoala, says Legit.ng, comes from Ikorodu in Lagos State. After school she joined FC River Internationals in Lagos, then Rivers Angels in 2013. The rest is in our Asisat Oshoala biography.
Ondo has Demehin.
In August 2025 Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa received her at Government House in Akure and rewarded her with cash and a house, Complete Sports reported. The Oba of Bariga then made her “Yeye Akeweje Ilaje”, The Nigerian Voice wrote. Like Nnadozie, she passed through Rivers Angels, in 2021-22.
South-South and the North: the clubs that made them
We found no published South-South or northern state of origin for anyone on this list. Look at the clubs, though, and the picture flips, because Rivers Angels in Port Harcourt shaped Nnadozie, Oshoala and Demehin long before any of them wore the national team's green and white. Gift Monday drove Bayelsa Queens to the 2021-22 title as top scorer. Flourish Sabastine was at the Yenagoa club in 2023 before Reims and Benfica.
Edo Queens supply three home-based invitees: Uzoma, Adeshina and the Flamingos forward Oluwakemi Adegbuyi.
In September the Edo side won the WAFU B title in Ouagadougou, beating Ampem Darkoa of Ghana 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw and so reaching the CAF Women's Champions League, the Nigerian Observer reported.
Further north, Nasarawa Amazons in Lafia send Farida Abdulwahab, Joy Igbokwe and Fatimoh Solaty to camp. Their coach, Christopher Danjuma, is now Eguavoen's assistant. Joy Omewa began at Confluence Queens in Lokoja before Denmark. Our list of female football clubs in Nigeria covers the rest of the NWFL.
Our view
At least five of the 28 were born abroad. Alozie in California. Echegini and Erhabor in the Netherlands. Toni Payne in Alabama, to parents of Nigerian descent. Ashleigh Plumptre in Leicester; her paternal grandfather was born in Nigeria. For them the state question often goes unanswered in public, and that is their business.
What the map shows is a team claimed loudly by the South-East and South-West when it wins, and built quietly by clubs in Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Benin City, Lafia and Lokoja whatever the result, which is the part of the story governors rarely photograph and the part Eguavoen will lean on against Comoros this month.
Sources: Daily Trust, Pulse Sports, Voice of Nigeria, CAF, Al Jazeera, NTA, TheNiche, BusinessDay, Complete Sports, The Nigerian Voice, Legit.ng (Ajibade), Legit.ng (Oshoala), Nigerian Observer, BellaNaija.
This article was most recently revised and updated 37 seconds ago ago
