Nigerian football has had some highs and lows this year, beginning with the Africa Cup of Nations where the Super Eagles exceeded all expectations by reaching the final.
Though they lost to Ivory Coast, Nigerians, who did not anticipate the team reaching the final, gave them some plaudits for surpassing expectations.
There's also the case of Rivers United qualifying for the quarter-final of the CAF Confederations Cup with that late drama against Dreams FC at the Nest of Champions in Uyo.
The Port Harcourt side emerged from a tough group that included Dreams FC of Ghana, Academica de Lobito of Angola, and Club Africain of Tunisia.
On the other hand, it wasn’t really a good year for the junior teams as the Men’s U20 team got knocked out of the African Games in the group stage, while the Women’s team, the Falconets, failed to retain their African Games title, losing to Ghana in the final.
With the March international break done and dusted after the Super Eagles' win over Ghana and loss to Mali, here are three things to look forward to in the next couple of weeks for Nigerian football fans.
Falcons look to perch in Paris at the expense of Banyana Banyana
It is really awkward by Nigerian standards to perceive that Nigeria’s Women's team, the Super Falcons, have not been to the Olympic Games since Beijing 2008.
The team has failed to qualify for the last three games but now have a chance to compete in Paris. However, they will have to first see off African champions South Africa next week.
Randy Waldrum has his work cut out for him but will hope his wards build on their World Cup showing to edge Banyana Banyana.
The first leg of the clash will be held at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on April 5th while the return leg is scheduled for four days later in South Africa.
To get to this final hurdle, in a nail-biting battle, the Super Falcons edged out Cameroon's Indomitable Lionesses to secure their spot in the final qualifying round for the Olympics.
Esther Okoronkwo was the hero, scoring the all-important goal across the two-legged tie at the MKO Abiola National Stadium.
Meanwhile, South Africa's Banyana Banyana dominated Tanzania, trouncing them 4-0 on aggregate.
The two powerhouses will now go head-to-head to determine who joins the other 15 top women's teams from around the world at the highly-anticipated Women's Olympic Football Tournament kicking off in Paris in July.
Nigerian football: NFF to name Super Eagles coach
When Jose Peseiro announced his decision to leave the Super Eagles, the rumour mill went into overdrive as to who will succeed him.
Even though the Nigeria Football Federation has not publicly announced those who have applied for the job, there have been a few interesting names that have popped up among the candidates.
Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has been mentioned even though this week, he came out to declare that he did not apply for the job.
It is said that former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ndubuisi Egbo is in the mix, same as US-based coach Michael Nsien. Emmanuel Amuneke has also been mentioned alongside Sylvanus Okpalla and former Cameroon coach Antonio Conceiciao.
Finidi George, who tinkered with the team for the friendlies against Ghana and Mali is also in contention, even though sources told Afrik-Foot.com that even if Finidi does not get the top job, he will be one of the assistant coaches – a role he played at the last AFCON in the Ivory Coast.
It will definitely be an interesting couple of weeks as the NFF seeks a new coach for the Super Eagles in time for the World Cup qualifiers.
Boniface to return from injury
Unarguably Nigeria’s in-form striker prior to the Nations Cup, it seemed as if the nation was in mourning when news emerged from Nigeria’s training camp in Dubai that the Leverkusen forward had gotten injured and was going to miss the AFCON.
Boniface was expected to provide power, pace, and trickery for Nigeria in Ivory Coast alongside Victor Osimhen but injury put paid to that.
Infact, former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro post-AFCON said the 23-year-old was sorely missed and would have made a huge difference for the Super Eagles if he was available.
The striker has built a cult following on social media, and many have been anticipating his return to the pitch.
With Nigeria’s next batch of games coming up in June, Boniface's return is timely as Nigeria seeks to relaunch the World Cup campaign after two unimpressive displays at home to Lesotho and away at Zimbabwe.
If he gets back to his usual form before then, then the signs are ominous that the Eagles will soar.
