How Ghana inspired Nigeria to change name from Red Devils to Super Eagles
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Until 1960, the senior men’s national team of Nigeria responded to the tag of Red Devils. The choice of name for the national team of Nigeria was informed by the colour of jersey they wore. Red was the colour, hence the name Red Devils.
However the gaining of independence rebirthed a sense of nationalism in the sporting dispensation of Nigeria which culminated in the re-christening of the national team.
As per history, there was a feeling that the red colour and the name Red Devils were reflective of the beliefs and ideals of the people Nigeria. The colours were thus changed to green resulting in the name Super Green Eagles.
Ghanaian football legend and historian Reverend Osei Kofi has however given a new twist to what has long been existed as the official reason for the alteration in the name of the Nigeria national team.
The two-time AFCON winner told GhanaWeb in an exclusive interview that Nigeria were inspired by the Black Stars of Ghana to change their name to Super Eagles.
He disclosed that aside Nigeria, other African countries took cues from Ghana to change their names to reflect the colours and emblems of their countries.
“The Nigerians used to be called Red Devils. The African countries were naming their countries after animals but the Black Stars stood out. The Nigerians realized that since the stars were in the galaxy then the Eagles could fly so they changed the name. What they failed to realize is that the Eagle cannot fly above the star. They learnt from us.
Reverend Osei Kofi was interacting with GhanaWeb on Ghana’s qualification to the World Cup which came at the expense of the Super Eagles.
He credited coach Otto Addo for masterminding Ghana’s qualification to the 2022 World Cup.
He commended President Akufo-Addo for publicly asking the Ghana Football Association to retain Otto Addo as head coach of the club.
Also watch the new episode of the GhanaWeb Sports Debate with Joel Eshun in the post below:
