The National Sports Commission's Director General, Alhassan Yakmut, has claimed to be the brain behind the Super Falcons' name.
The Falcons are in Toronto, Canada, for last-minute preparations for their seventh Fifa
Women’s World Cup campaign in Canada starting with opening clash in Group D on June 8 in Winnipeg against Scandinavian giants Sweden.
Yakmut revealed when he visited the team in training to wish them well as they embarked on their training tour and the World Cup in Canada that he was in fact the the brain behind the beautiful name
“In 1991 when the female team was established I was Personal Assistant to the Honorable Minister of Sports, Brigadier General Y.Y. Kure and after the team won their first match against Cameroon in Lagos, we went to Dodan Barracks and Mariam Babangida (of blessed memory) was the First Lady and we were challenged to come up with a name for you.
"The Director-General then in the person of Lele Muktar, told the First Lady that he cannot help with any name because he is not an expert but that she should try Al-Hassan Yakmut.
“I am telling you a story that you should put on your record of how the name Super Falcons came to be. Maryam Babangida, as we all knew her, was a very strong First Lady.
“She wanted a bird that was stronger than an Eagle and we found out that Falcons are stronger. I now told them that since a Falcon is stronger than the Eagle and then there was a male team in Aba that was called the Falcons of Aba,I asked the First Lady to overrule that name for the male team in Aba and rededicate it to the female senior team.
“Simbiat Abiola, who was her best friend, was there when all these things happened and that was how you where called the Super Falcons.
“As fate will have it, I was going to be on the first away match to Cameroon on the C1-30 of the Nigerian Air Force. It was my first time of boarding that flight and it was very funny because you sit as if you are waiting for medication; eleven people facing eleven people, facing each other until we got to Cameroon. he leader of the delegation was Simbiat Abiola.
“In 2002 when you played your friendly match with The English team in Fulham Stadium, I was Special Assistant to the Minister of Sports and I was also asked to be part of the team. So you can see that Super Falcons is Yakmut and Yakmut is Super Falcons.
“We need to set the record straight because history has to judge you positively. Life is a baton; when it is your turn make sure you put in your best because history has to judge you positively. Your own children will know that you as parents you held the flag high during your own time,” said Yakmut.
The reigning African champions will campaign in Group D at the World Cup in Canada together with former champions USA, Sweden and Australia.
Source:Supersport.com
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