Being an integral figure in the distinguished history of Nigeria’s women’s team is an experience that will never dim in the mind of Jennifer Onyinyechi Echegini. Seven months on from beating the hosts Morocco in a pulsating Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final at Rabat’s Olympic Stadium, in the process winning a record 10th African title, “Joe”, as her Paris Saint-Germain teammates call Echegini – an acronym of her three initials – is yet to come down from her career high.
“Winning the Wafcon is on another level, you know?” the 24-year-old midfielder says from Paris. “The pride and the achievement that I felt … when you’re playing with a group of girls that you love and care for, it makes it even more special.”
Overcoming a 2-0 first-half deficit to win 3-2 took every ounce of skill, resilience and fortitude, as Echegini vividly recalls. “We kind of just went [into the second half] with the mindset that it’s all or nothing … you either give everything and maybe get something out of it, or you don’t fight, and you then look back, wishing you had. We just went out with that mindset and gave everything.”
It was the welcome home in Nigeria and the subsequent reception at Aso Rock in Abuja, the seat of Nigeria’s government, where the players were each promised $100,000 (£75,000) and a house for the win (a pledge the government is yet to redeem) that left Echegini truly overwhelmed. “I already knew Nigerians do things big, but when you experience it, it’s on another level,” she says. “Being someone who grew [up] outside Nigeria and not so much into the Nigerian culture, it’s always beautiful to see how things get done. I feel like I’m learning something every time I go home.
“It just shows, as a nation, how supportive everybody is. Without them, winning the tournament wouldn’t have been as special. It was amazing to celebrate things with the people you care about and with fans who care about you and support you.”
Born in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, Echegini moved to England at the age of 11 with her parents before relocating to the US, where she played college football at Mississippi State and Florida State universities. Echegini’s peripatetic life has played a decisive role in the person she has become. “It’s only affected me for the better,” she says. “I would not be who I am or where I am today if I hadn’t experienced such things. I’m very grateful for the moments I’ve had. It’s not the same as an average person who grows up in their home town and goes to their local university. I am very grateful for those experiences.”
Before Randy Waldrum, the American who coached Nigeria at the last World Cup in Australia, gave Echegini her debut in 2022, playing for the Netherlands was what she regarded as a more “realistic” ambition. “I had no contact with Nigeria at all, knew little about it,” she told the EaglesTracker Podcast. “I lived in the Netherlands until I was 11 and playing for the Netherlands seemed more realistic.”
But there has been no looking back ever since Echegini scored her first goal for Nigeria in a 3-0 win over New Zealand in 2023, the same year in which she went to the World Cup in Australia, where Nigeria had an impressive outing, losing to eventual finalists England in the last 16.
To maintain Nigeria’s impressive streak of qualifying for every World Cup since it began in 1991, the Falcons will have to make the last four of this year’s Wafcon, which for a third successive occasion will be held in Morocco, beginning on 17 March. Echegini knows the holders cannot be complacent when defending their title, with the gap between Nigeria and other teams on the continent, once a huge gulf, continuing to narrow.
Echegini also believes Nigeria’s Wafcon preparations are in desperate need of an organisational upgrade. “Preparation time is very limited,” she says. “You have to be very careful with how well you prepare for things. Last year we didn’t prepare as much as we wanted, but we still won. We are a team, regardless of the obstacles thrown at us or the lack of preparation, which always prevails in the end.”
In regards to becoming contenders at next year’s World Cup, should Nigeria qualify as expected, Echegini sounds a note of warning. “We need to prepare very well. We need to figure some things out, so we can be better,” she says. “When you compete with teams that have all these facilities and, essentially, their lives are easier, you’re already at a disadvantage.
“I’m not somebody who wants to complain, because, at the end of the day, football is football. But you have to put your team in the best position to compete. I hope we are able to utilise every camp window, so we can be as strong as we can”. The Nigeria Football Federation would be wise to heed the counsel of one of their national team’s most impressive figures.
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