by Karen Chalamilla
International football tournaments, especially those as big as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, are famed for fostering the spirit of nationalism in fans and players.
Amongst the many standouts of the 2023 tournament is the compelling number of players with dual nationalities, particularly from the Nigerian national team, the Super Falcons. England-born defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, made her World Cup debut as a starter for the Nigerian National team. The Leicester City full-back swapped the England U23 team for the Super Falcons in 2022 and was a part of the team that beat Cameroon at WAFCON to qualify. In an interview with DW, she states, "Football is the platform that's helped me realize and uncover many things about my heritage."
Born to Nigerian parents who immigrated to the US, Ifeoma Onumonu grew up with an American mindset that largely informed her identity. According to the forward, joining the Nigerian squad with a chest of knowledge from the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and experiencing varying expressions of Nigerianness from her teammates has felt affirming. In an interview with The Athletic, she shares how the warm welcome by her teammates encouraged her to learn more about her parents’ birth country.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup has not only been a source of immense entertainment but an arena to discuss the increasingly blurry nature of the nationalism it fosters and the implication of this national identity. Football has, over the years, been a pathway towards collectivism in modern societies critiqued for the growing sense of individualism on one hand. On the other, it mirrors the complexities of nationalism and identity. Nationalism traditionally posits that nations are built on hereditary connections and shared culture through language, religion, territory and sometimes even behavioural patterns.
Globalisation and migration complicate this idea of nationalism as they push it beyond borders or shared culture. International football fosters imagined communities where players and fans in the diaspora can integrate. They do not need to be within state borders or need to embody a unitary sense of belonging. Signifiers like a common language and a shared culture take a backseat, and defeating the opposing team becomes the ultimate unifier.
Nationalism, in this sense, is begotten from the shared glory of winning. It extends beyond players and citizens of a particular country. African fans whose national teams have not made the World Cup often root for those that did. In this case, nationalism takes on a new pan-Africanist meaning. For example, the England vs Nigeria game was playfully dubbed the “colonial derby,”. When viewed against the backdrop of the colonial violence England has inflicted on Nigeria (a pain that many African countries share), the stakes got higher. A win not only meant a footballing success for Nigeria, but a glorious victory for Africans.
What does this blurred iteration of nationalism mean for sports in the homeland? Let's consider that the men’s national side recently received backlash for 6 (out of 28) players in the 2022 AFCON roster being from the diaspora. One criticism is that inclusion of players with dual citizenship will alter the Nigerian style of play. Another is that the federation will no longer have the incentive to develop players from the homeland. The matter of player identity and the infusion of players with footballing sensibilities from international leagues has not been met with as much pushback for the Super Falcons. After all, both Plumptre and Onumona know very well what it takes to make it to the national team and win. Though the team's dominance on the continent is undeniable, this has yet to translate on the global stage which allows for an openness to restructuring.
Then therein lies the argument that this blurred nationalism veils the negligence of the federation. The run-up to the world cup was mired with talk of boycotts as the Nigerian Football Federation faced accusations of withholding bonuses for players who refused to train due to pending wage payments. This is in tandem with the massive gender pay gap and the sexist perception of football as a “man’s sport” that sees women’s football as secondary and less deserving of support. Recruiting diaspora players who earn a better wage from their leagues can be seen as a band-aid solution to the glaring issues.
In all, international football is big business. It pays on all ends (the players, the federations and all other stakeholders involved). The malleability of citizenship to allow for talent to move across identity lines profits the footballing world. Nigeria’s laws allowing for dual nationality make space for talent to bolster their chances of winning. The total prize money allocated by FIFA in the 2023 Women’s World Cup is $110,000,000. That is more than triple what was on offer in 2019. The champions stand to win $4,290,000, and just for qualifying for the group stages teams win $1,560,000. As the stakes have gotten higher, it behoves the coaching staff to expand their recruitment pool to guarantee wins for the players, and the federation. In the case of head coach, Randy Waldrum and his staff, this pool is the diaspora.
As more women’s teams enjoy the success of making it to the World Cup, we will likely see this blurred form of nationalism continue to shift to reflect the current conditions against the backdrop of the tournament.