Ann Agumanu Chiejine was Super Falcons' goalkeeper for 15 years, winning the African Women Championship (AWC) title five times and appearing in the FIFA World Cup three consecutive times. With 102 international appearances to her credit, Chiejine took what was considered the mother-of-all-risks by guarding the Super Falcons' post with four months-old pregnancy at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. On retirement from the game, Ann became Assistant Coach of the Super Falcons in 2007. That was after she acquired her Basic Coaching Certificate in football from the National Institute for Sports (NIS) in Lagos. Speaking with GOWON AKPODONOR during the week, the mother of four reminisced on her school days exploits, first as a sprinter at Bolade Grammar School, Oshodi, and later, as a winger at Flying Babes FC also in Lagos, before switchingto goalkeeping, when she pitched her tent with C.N. Okoli FC in 1989. She also spoke on the dwindling state of school sports in Nigeria, advising both parents and the government to team up to salvage the situation.HAD Ann Agumanu Chiejine obeyed her father, not many Nigerians would have had the opportunity of coming in contact with her, not to talk of watching her on television performing wonders in her role as the goalkeeper of the female national team, Super Falcons, for about two decades.Ann, still as graceful as she was 20 years ago, believes that God had a special place for her in Nigerian football history hence the roads she had to travel to become Nigeria's number one goalkeeper.'When I made up my mind to take football as a career, my parents made it clear that they were against it. In fact, my daddy warned me that playing football would prevent me from having children,' Chiejine told The Guardian during a chat on Monday.'My father said that playing football would make me look so muscular and that no man would be interested in marrying me.'Not even a medical doctor on a visit to our house could persuade my parents that playing football would not stop me from having children.They were not convinced but I refused to listen to them. Every day after school, I would walk a long distance from our house in Oshodi to Mushin before boarding a bus to the National Stadium, Surulere to play football.'Born on February 2, 1974 in Imo State, the young Chijiene began her elementary education at Folorunsho Primary School, Oshodi, in 1980. In fact, the seed of her sporting career was planted at Folorunsho Primary School, but it was watered and nurtured to stardom when she began her post elementary education at Bolade Grammar School, also in Oshodi, in the mid-80s.At Bolade Grammar School, Chijiene started as a sprinter, winning some laurels for the school in both the 100 and 200 metres inter-school meets, which every school athlete looked forward to then.'I was very good in short distance races when I started my secondary school education at Bolade Grammar School. I later did high jump and long jump for the school and there was hardly any Inter House Sports competition in the area without my presence. At times, I would join the boys on the field when it was time for football and I was playing as a winger. Even when I joined Flying Babes FC, which was my first football club, I continued to maintain that position , playing from the wings,' she said.In line with destiny, however, the young Chiejine soon found herself as a goalkeeper, a role that brought her fame.Tracing the roots of her conversion from a wing player to goalkeeper in the late 1980s, the former Chief Coach of a Romanian top division side, CS Negrea Resita FC, said: 'I moved from Flying Babes to C.N. Okoli Football Club in 1989. As soon as I arrived the team's camp, one of the coaches looked at me and said 'Ann, you will do far better as a goalkeeper because you have the height and good reflexes. We have to try you.' That was how I was changed to a goalkeeper.'At first, I found it a bit difficult to cope. Most times, I would attempt to stop the ball with my legs forgetting that I was a goalkeeper. But within two weeks, I was able to pick up and that was all.'Chiejine was one of the pioneer female footballers in the country. In 1990, she shifted base to Jegede Babes FC, which was one of the reigning female clubs in the country at that time. It was at Jegede Babes that Ann was called up to the national team in preparation for the first FIFA Women World Cup held in China.She recalled: 'The female national team was called the Amazons at that time. I was able to impress the coach, Paul Hamilton, and that was how I got into the team.'Chiejine got married shortly after the Super Falcons' debut World Cup appearance in China '91, thereby putting to rest the fear raised by her parents at the initial stage that taking football as a career would jeopardize her chances of getting married. The marriage is blessed with four children - two girls and two boys.For 15 years, Ann Chiejine made the Super Falcons' goalkeeping position her sole preserve and was synonymous with the Falcons' dominanation of Africa before retiring from international football in 2005.Apart from the inaugural FIFA World Cup in China, she was also the first choice goalie to Sweden '95, USA '99 and USA 2003 FIFA World Cup. She was also the country's number one goalie at the inaugural African Women Championship hosted by Nigeria in Abeokuta '98, Jo'burg 2000, Warri and Oghara 2002, South Africa 2004, as well as Warri 2006.In her days as goalkeeper for the Falcons, the team never conceded defeat in the final of the AWC championships. She also led the Falcons to the quarter-finals at the USA '99 World Cup under coach Ismalia Mabo, a feat the Falcons have not been able to repeat since then.In what has gone down as the biggest risk taken by any Nigerian athlete, Chiejine made big headlines in the sporting press in 2000, when it was discovered she guarded the Super Falcons post at the Sydney Olympic Games with a four-month-old pregnancy.'I don't want to talk about my pregnancy at the Sydney Olympic Games because I have put it behind me. What I can say is that I derived so much joy taking part in school sports and representing this country at one time or the other.'Before the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, I was part of the Super Falcons team that got to the quarter final of the FIFA World Cup at USA '99. There was one particular match we played against North Korea, which ended 2-1 in our favour. We scored and the Koreans equalized. The atmosphere was so tense and I was shouting and dishing instructions from the goal post as if I was the coach. And just few minutes to regulation time, God answered our prayer. We scored and that was how it ended 2-1 for Nigeria. It was one of the most memorable matches in my football career.'But on the other hand, the 1-7 defeat we conceded to USA in that tournament was my worst moment because I never bargained for such a heavy defeat considering our squad at that time,' she stated.On return from USA '99 FIFA World Cup, Chiejine was awarded a certificate of honour by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.She later featured for Port Harcourt-based club, Larry Angels and Pelican Stars of Calabar, helping the teams to win Super League and Challenge Cup trophies.After calling time on her playing career in 2005, Chiejine turned to coaching. She had a successful coaching course at the National Institute for Sports, (NIS) Lagos in the later part of 2005. She was drafted into the technical crew of the Super Falcons and was part of the team that won gold at Algiers 2007 All African Games.Determined to acquire further certificates in her coaching business, Chijiene, who is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ann Chiejine Soccer Academy, Lagos, left for USA in 2008 for her National 'B'' Coaching License at Home Depot Center, Carson C A. She also got her ' D'' Soccer Coaching Certificate in the same year from the U.S. Soccer Federation.She recently attended the DFB C and UEFA B-level International Coaching Course, Sportschule Oberwerth in Koblenz, Germany, where she obtained a certificate.Chiejine was part of the Super Falcons gold- winning team at the Abuja 2003 COJA Games and in 2007, she was named goalkeeper trainer of the U-23 Olympic Female team. She was the first female to handle a Nigerian top division team, (Tokas Queens of Lagos) in 2007.She returned to national service in 2007 when she was named assistant coach of the Super Falcons to the FIFA Women World Cup held in China. Chiejine also served as the chief coach of Team Lagos women football team to the National Sports Festival held in Ogun State, and was the Assistant Coach of the Super Falcons to the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games.Looking back on her careers, both as a goalkeeper and coach, Chiejine was full of praises to God-and her husband for his love and understanding, saying: 'I am lucky to have a husband that has always supported my career. He takes good care of my children whenever I am away. It was not easy being away from home, especially when you have such lovely children. That is why I will forever remain grateful to my husband for his wonderful support. If not for him, I doubt if I would have attained all I did with the national team. Above all, I thank God for His mercies.'Chiejine , who continues to shower praises on her physical education teachers in her primary and secondary school days, is sad that schools sports have been so neglected that Nigeria is not gaining from the abundant talents in the education system. But she believes that doing the necessary things can put this right .'It is a big challenge for every well-thinking Nigerian. I am saying this because in my days as a student at Bolade Grammar School in Lagos in the late 80s, there were so many school sports competitions within and outside the state. If not for my involvement in school sports at the elementary and secondary levels, I doubt if I would have become a goalkeeper for the national team.'Taking part in sporting activities is not only good exercise for the children, but it also keeps them away from crime and cult activities. My candid advice is for parents to join forces with the government at the local government, state and federal level to revive school sports from its current comatose position. It will be of great benefit to everyone.
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