Sheroes Cup

Sheroes Cup

2020 logo
Organising body	Ratels Sports Development Foundation
Founded	2019; 6 years ago (2019)
Region	Nigeria Cameroon Ghana
Number of teams	12
Current champions	Edo Queens FC

Sheroes Cup (formerly called Naija Ratels Pre-Season Championship then Flying Officers Cup) is an annual preseason tournament for women's association football teams in Africa. The competition usually feature elite teams from Nigeria Women Premier League, as well as neighboring African countries and is supported by the Nigeria Football Federation and Nigerian Women Football League.[1] Since the first edition in 2019, it has been described as the biggest preseason tournament for women club football in Nigeria.[2]

Just before the commencement of the second edition, it was rebranded as "Flying Officers Cup" to honor and immortalize the recently deceased Nigeria first-ever female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile.[3][4]

In 2021, there was a hundred per cent increase in the prize money from the 2020 edition. The first, second, third and fourth-placed teams are to receive ₦1,000,000, ₦500,000, ₦300,000 and ₦200,000 respectively.[5]

In October 2022, it was renamed to "Sheroes Cup".[6]

History

The competition is founded and financed by Barrister Paul Edeh, through his sport firm domiciled in Benue State. For the first edition, twenty women football clubs in Nigeria was invited but only four decided to honour the invitation. The inaugural tournament was contested by hosts, Naija Ratels; top-tier teams, Nasarawa Amazons and Edo Queens; and lower pyramid team, Honey Badgers from Northern Nigerian state of Kaduna. Edo Queens emerged winners following a straight round robin format. All participating teams received free sporting souvenirs, including soccer balls and jerseys.[7][8][9]

The second edition saw the introduction of prize money, as well as removing registration fees due to the financial impacts of COVID-19 on participating teams. It was also officially ratified by the Nigeria Women Football League. The tournament venue was relocated from Benue State to Abuja.[1]Bayelsa Queens emerged winners through a more traditional initial group phase, then elimination stages matches format.[10][11]

The third edition saw the ratification of an organizing committee that included many major national stakeholders in women's football. The prize money was also significantly increased and the tournament was billed to involve other African countries for the first time. The number of teams was also increased to 12. The competition is scheduled to start on 22 August.[12]

Top scorers

Year	Player	Team	Goals
2019	Odueke Omotoke	Edo Queens F.C.
2020[13]	Joy Omewa	Confluence Queens FC	6 goals
2021		[[ ]]
2022	Chinaza Agoh	Delta Queens FC	6 goals
2023	Emem Essien	Edo Queens FC	5 goals

Most valuable player

Year	Player	Team
2019
2020[13]	Joy Jerry	Bayelsa Queens
2021

Tournament format

Results

Year	Winner	Score	Runner-up
2019	Edo Queens	3–2	Nasarawa Amazons
2020	Bayelsa Queens	1–0	Nasarawa Amazons
2021	Robo Queens	1–0	Delta Queens
2022	Delta Queens	0–0 (5–4 p)	Edo Queens
2023	Naija Ratels FC	0–1	Edo Queens

References

1. "NWFL Endorses Flying Officers Cup 2020". 2020-11-12. Archived from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
2. Adeboyegha, Bayo (2020-11-26). "Flying Officers Cup: The Biggest Women Football Pre-Season Championship In Africa". Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
3. Tobex, Oluchi (26 November 2020). "Flying Officers Cup: Tolulope Arotile' Was Indeed Honoured As The Biggest Preseason Winds Up". Sport247. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
4. "5 important Nuggets About Nigeria Biggest Women Football Pre-season Championship, The Flying Officers Cup". Globaltimes Nigeria. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
5. Abdulquadir, Adedapo. "Flying Officers Cup: Organisers honour fallen heroes as tournament kicks off September". Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
6. "Pre-season: Why we renamed Flying Officers' Cup to Sheroes Cup — Ratels". Vanguard. Archived from the original on 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
7. "Edo Queens FC Storm Makurdi for pre-Season tour". 2020-02-01. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
8. "Makurdi 2020 Pre-Season tournament: Edo Queens are champions, end trophy drought". Sun Newspaper. 2021-02-04. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
9. "NWPL Pre-season: Nasarawa Amazons Annihilate Honey Badgers As Edo Queens Soar over Naija Ratel". 2020-01-30. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
10. "Bayelsa Queens crowned 2020 Flying Officer's Cup champions". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
11. "2020 Flying Officers Cup: Full Results, Final Group Standing, Semifinal Fixtures". 2020-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
12. Ngoboa, David (2021-07-25). "Flying Officers' Cup 2021: Organising committee inaugurated as prize money increases". Archived from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
13. "Flying Officers Cup: Jerry, Omewa, Okeke Lead Individual Awards". Ogun State Radio. Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2021-08-28.