Super Falcons goalkeeper, coach nominated for Ballon d’Or awards

Victorious Super Falcons goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, and coach Justine Madugu, have been nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

Nnadozie was nominated for the Women’s Yachine Trophy, while Madugu was nominated for the Women’s Team Coach of the Year Trophy.

Also, Brighton goalkeeper was shortlisted for award among five women as well as Ann-Katrin Berger of Germany and Gotham FC, Cata Coll of FC Barcelona, Hannah Hampton of England and Chelsea, and Daphne Van Domselaar of Arsenal.

The former Paris FC goalkeeper was part of the Super Falcons team that recently won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after defeating the host country, Morocco, 3-2 after a brilliant comeback at the final in Rabat on July 26, 2025.

Nnadozie also emerged as the goalkeeper of the tournament where the Super Falcons won their 10th title.

Madugu led the team to victory and was nominated for the Women’s Team Coach of the Year award, alongside other nominees on who included Chelsea’s Sonia Bompastor, Arthur Elias of Brazil’s women’s national football team, Renée Slegers of Arsenal, and the coach of the English women’s national football team, Sarina Wiegman.

The 69th Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held on September 22, 2025, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France.

For their heroic performance at WAFCON, President Bola Tinubu conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger on the team.

He awarded the players the naira equivalent of $100,000 each and the technical team the naira equivalent of $50,000 each.

The President also said members of the team would each receive a three-bedroom apartment.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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