The President, Executive Committee, and entire members of the Association of Nigerian Women in Sports (NAWIS) heartily felicitates with all Nigerian women, especially those who are active and retired sports women, as the nation celebrates the 2026 International Women’s Day.
A series of programmes and events and activities have been lined-up to mark the auspicious day, across the thirty-six states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Abuja).
In her goodwill message on the occasion, President of NAWIS, Professor Mariam Suleiman paid glowing tribute to corporate bodies like Wema Bank Plc, which will be hosting a grand event, focused on gender inclusion,
on March 4, 2026.
In her words, “with themes like ‘When Women Gain, We Grow” and ‘Give To Gain’. The event will feature awards to deserving persons, empowerment programmes to selected women, and an expose of women’s achievements in sports and entrepreneurship”.
The Nigeria women’s national football team, the Super Falcons, is one of Africa’s most successful teams, having won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles, a record tenth time. The Falcons are also the only African team to have reached the quarterfinals in both the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Summer Olympics.
Other sports women heroines being celebrated, include the Female Yellow Greens, that’s Nigeria’s Senior Women’s Cricket team, who recently participated in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier in Namibia; and the Under 19 Women’s team that took the world by storm, at the ICC Under 19 World Cup, in Malaysia.
Similarly, Team Nigeria’s poster girl, Oluwatobi Amusan and other track and field stars who have make waves on the international stage, churning and bringing home precious silverware.
Star girl Amusan, is a track and field athlete, who specializes in the 100 meters hurdles and has achieved incredible feats. She’s the current world record holder in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.12 Seconds, set at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
Amusan’s achievements didn’t stop there – as she’s a two-time African Games champion, a Commonwealth Games champion, and a twice a Diamond League champion. She’s also Nigeria’s first-ever world champion in athletics, winning the Gold medal, at the 2022 World Championships.
Nigeria’s women are excelling in various sports, including athletics (Ese Brume – long jump), wrestling (Odunayo Adekuoroye and Blessing Oborodudu); as well as in weightlifting.
Also in 2025, Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, won the FIBA Africa Afrobasket tournament, and in doing so, D’Tigresses won the Afrobasket gold medal for the fifth consecutive tournaments.
More remarkably, the D’Tigresses were steered to this uncommon achievements, which culminated in their pocketing an authomatic 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup ticket, and a resounding success at the Paris Olympics, where they punched above their weights to reach the last eight, by a Nigerian woman, Coach Rena Wakama, who was later named Coach of the year 2025 by FIBA Africa.
Outside of the Sports Arena, Nigeria is home to many exceptional women achievers across various fields. Some notable names include Funke Akindele, Veekee James, Mo Abudu, and Uche Pedro, who have made significant contributions to fashion, media, film, and lifestyle.
Others like Ibukun Awosika, Halima Dangote, and Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan are making waves in business, finance, and energy.
In governance and public life, women like Aisha Buhari and Winnie Byanyima are leading the way; just as the healthcare sector is also benefiting from the expertise of Prof. Bosede Afolabi and Dr. Iman Abuzeid.
These women are being recognized for their outstanding achievements look through various awards and initiatives, such as the Elowell Max Influence List 2025, the Power Awards, and the Africa Women of Impact Awards.
