WAUG 2026: OAU Female Footballers Excluded After Months of Preparation, Director Of Sports Explains

For months, the pitch had been more than just a football field for Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Female Footballers known as OAU Giantess. It was where they trained after lectures and gave up time they could have spent on other activities, all in preparation for the West African University Games (WAUG).

Then, on September 10, the message came. ‘Due to the unpalatable decision made by the University Sports Council, we have been informed that our team has been removed from the list of teams to be registered for the upcoming West African University Games,’ the team captain, Kenny Grace Kuje, wrote in a message to the players.

The captain did not state the reason for the decision in the message, telling players who wanted to know the cause to contact her privately.

‘I would have added the reason here, but it’s not something nice to say, so if you want to know what the cause is, you can personally come to my DM,’ she added.

OAU GIANTESS ATHLETES REACTION

Semilore Grace, a member of OAU Giantess, said the players had been preparing for WAUG since the beginning of the year. According to her, their coaches and captain explained that the university did not have sufficient funds to register the female football team for the competition.

‘There were a lot of speculated reasons why we were excluded, but from our coaches’ and my captain’s report, we were excluded because the school doesn’t have the money to register us for the events we’ve all been preparing for since the beginning of the year.

She added that the decision affected the entire team, especially given the sacrifices made in preparation for the Games.

‘I was affected in a lot of ways, not just me; I will basically speak on behalf of my teammates. Months of training and hope went down the drain a few weeks before WAUG. Some of us had to put some other extracurricular activities on hold because of the event, and we can’t even play the game or even go back to the activities, so we are basically idling at the moment. It’s a great heartbreak to everyone of us, and it almost prompted the question of whether the school management truly wants the existence of female football or they just want one they can walk over as it suits them. But in all, we were terribly affected; hopes were dashed; we really do not feel valued at all.’

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Similarly, in an interview with Nosiru Benedict Oluwabusayo, she said she did not know why the female athletes were excluded.

‘Currently I don’t know why our female athletes were excluded, and I also don’t know any other affected athletes except the female basketball athletes, which I think has been resolved.’

OAU Giantess Captain’s Reaction 

When contacted by ACJOAU, Kenny Grace Kuje confirmed that there was an issue surrounding the participation of some female teams in the upcoming Games but declined to go into details.

‘There has indeed been an issue regarding the participation of some female teams in the upcoming WAUG Games,’ she said.

She confirmed that the female football team would no longer be participating or registered for the Games. However, she said the team was still trying to understand the circumstances surrounding the decision.

‘We are currently taking the appropriate steps to understand the situation and clarify the circumstances surrounding the decision, and I would prefer to be careful with the information I share, as the situation is still a sensitive matter, and I would not want to give an inaccurate impression or speak beyond what has been officially communicated to us,’ she said.

The Director of Sports Explains

The Director of Sports, Dr R. Ogunlusi, however, gave a different account of why the female football team was not selected. According to him, the female football team was the only group of athletes not picked from the university’s contingent.

‘The reason for it was because of antecedents, as they don’t have a solid team and they have not really been training. In fact, the last time they went to FUTA for preliminaries, they were beaten. So we really don’t believe they have a strong, formidable team, but females and men are still well represented, as we still have over 87 females there.