By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed.
Edo erupted in celebration as the victorious Edo Queens returned home to a hero’s welcome, with Governor Monday Okpebholo receiving the WAFU B champions in Benin City and announcing a N50 million cash reward for the team.
The atmosphere was electric as the Queens, who successfully defended their WAFU B Women’s Champions League qualifying title in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, arrived at the Benin Airport to a colourful reception by government officials, sports administrators and jubilant fans, before embarking on a victory parade through Airport Road to Osadebey Avenue.
The triumph secured Edo Queens a place in the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League in South Africa, after the Nigerian champions defeated Ghana’s Ampem Darkoa Ladies in a dramatic final that went all the way to penalties.
Speaking at the reception, Executive Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Hon Amadin Desmond Enabulele, described the feat as another historic milestone in the state’s sporting resurgence, attributing the team’s back to back successes to the commitment of players and coaches alongside sustained investment by the state government.
He singled out several players for their outstanding performances, applauding Doosuur Atume, Esther Chioma Moses, Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and assistant captain Valentina Uroko, while praising Coach Moses Aduku as one of the finest female football coaches in Nigeria. With Aduku away on national duty with the Falconets, Bendel Insurance FC head coach Kennedy Boboye stepped in to lead the team to another continental triumph.
Enabulele also praised Edo APC Chairman, Chief Jarrett Tenebe, for his consistent support of the team, describing the gesture as one rooted in gratitude rather than politics, and disclosed that six Edo players currently feature in Nigeria’s Falconets squad at the FIFA Women’s Under 20 World Cup in Poland, alongside seven Edo players in the country’s Under 19 girls’ cricket team that has qualified for its own World Cup.
Governor Okpebholo, addressing the players, praised their fighting spirit and said he had remained confident they would overcome Ampem Darkoa Ladies in the final, recalling the dramatic penalty shootout and singling out the goalkeeper’s composure as the turning point that shifted momentum in Edo’s favour.
The high point of the reception came when the governor announced the N50 million cash reward, assuring the players of continued government support and more opportunities to excel as they now turn their attention to the continental stage in South Africa.
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