Ismaila Mabo, the inaugural Women’s Afcon champion’s coach, has passed away.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation, Ismaila Mabo, the coach of the team that won the 1998 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, passed away on Monday, March 13, 2023 in Jos, Nigeria, after a protracted battle with illness. Mabo was the head coach of the team that went on to win the tournament (NFF).
When he passed away early on Monday morning, he had reached the age of 80 years.
Mabo is without a doubt the most successful women’s coach on the African continent. She has led her teams to numerous victories. 1998 was the first year that the Women’s African Cup was held, and she led Nigeria to victory by scoring 28 goals and not allowing any of their opponents to score against them.
After that, he captained the squad to its best finish at a FIFA Women’s World Cup competition, which was a spot in the quarterfinals at the edition held in the United States in 1999. In the history of the World Cup, this is the furthest that any African team has ever progressed in the competition. During the time that he was keeping watch, Cynthia Uwak and Perpertua Nkwocha came to his attention. Both of these women would later go on to win the award for African Women’s Player of the Year.
The seasoned tactician was the only coach in history to ever qualify Nigeria for all of the women’s international competitions. These competitions include the 1999 Women’s World Cup, the 1998 and 2000 Women’s African Championships, and the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.
Mabo played the position of central defender for the Mighty Jets of Jos throughout their winning phase in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this time, the Mighty Jets of Jos were extremely successful.
In addition, he competed for the West African nation at the senior level, and he made his debut in a qualifying match for the 1972 Africa Cup of Nations against Congo on November 22, 1970 in Brazzaville. This match took place in preparation for the tournament. The competition was for the Africa Cup of Nations, which was taking place.