Former Super Falcons striker, Mercy Akide-Udoh, has called for stakeholders and administrators, to pay greater attention to women football all over the world.
Akide-Udoh, was the
only former African female player, who was invited by FIFA to attend the
General Assembly in Mexico last week.
It was there she
argued for more investment to come into women football, claiming there they are
being treated as ‘second class citizens’.
“Girls train as hard
as the men, play as hard as the men but women footballers are treated like
second class citizens, especially in Africa. That needs to change,” Akide-Udoh
said.
“The girls must be
treated with respect, they must be paid as well as the men, and they must have
proper domestic competitions to play in.
“It is very important
for sponsors to invest in women’s football as many of these girls are also
breadwinners for their families.
“To do that, we need
to sit down, talk about what is wrong with the game and find workable ways to
make things better.”
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