There is no team in Africa, men or women, that has been anywhere near as dominant as the Super Falcons when it comes to the continent's premier national team competition.
That is why, before every Women's Africa Cup of Nations, predictions may change, the challengers may change, and even storylines may vary, but the one thing that has always remained constant is who the favourites are. Nigeria.
All of those things are once again true. An expansion to 16 teams has thrown up new faces like Malawi and Cape Verde, while South Africa, Morocco, Cameroon and even Ghana will consider themselves genuine contenders. But the one question that hangs over the field, as always, is how do you beat Nigeria?
For nearly three decades, Africa has struggled to answer that question. Which is not to say it has not been done. Ghana managed it first in 2002, stunning not just themselves but the entire continent in a group phase win that sent shockwaves across the continent.
South Africa and Equatorial Guinea also followed suit. But less than five losses over those three decades is a testament to Nigeria's powers of recovery, and their haul of 10 titles is proof of championship DNA.
But how do they do it?
Nigeria's culture of winning
Every other country arrives at WAFCON believing they can compete. Nigeria arrive believing that anything less than the trophy is failure.
The Super Falcons are perhaps the only African women's national team where winning the tournament is considered obligatory. And each iteration of the team inherits not only the jersey but also the expectations created by those who came before.
The winning culture began back in 1991 when they played the early international games. Leaders like Florence Omagbemi Nkiru Okosieme and Mercy Akide carried the torch, through Perpetua Nkwocha, Onome Ebi, and on to Asisat Oshoala and Rasheedat Ajibade.
Generation by generation, they have built the most successful team African women's football has ever known, and a culture of winning that is now the DNA of the side.
This winning culture carries on irrespective of whatever travails they have to go through, even when that is self-inflicted by their own administrators. Every time the Super Falcons go into a WAFCON game, their expectation is to win, and they usually do.
There is almost a sense going into the tournament, that it is their birthright and that belief is what sees them through, game after game.
Other teams do not win the trophy, they have to forcibly snatch it out of Nigeria's near unyielding grip.
Ability to bounce back
The sheer determination to win when they get to a WAFCON final is a trait that no other African country has shown, at least not yet. All their 10 titles are littered with examples of when the Super Falcons have had to overcome adversity to put hold the trophy aloft.
In 2002, when they lost their first ever game on the continent to Ghana, it looked like the Super Falcons stranglehold had finally been broken. The Black Queens, led by Alberta Sackey, looked strong enough to challenge for the title.
To face this first-ever test of their mettle, then coach Sam Okpodu took the players out to a lake to relax, far away from the national meltdown that had gripped the nation. They returned to storm their way to the final where they met Ghana again, and this time, battled to a 2-0 win.
Two years before, they'd had to overcome not just Banyana Banyana on the field, but also one of the most hostile crowds in WAFCON history to win the final.
In 2014, they had to do the same against Cameroon, who were hosting for the first time. Buoyed by the support of their First Lady, the country packed the stadium in support of the Lionesses. Unfazed, the Super Falcons braved all of those odds and came away winners.
Four years later in Ghana, they lost their opening game to South Africa. But when the sides met in the final, it was the Super Falcons who outlasted Banyana Banyana, winning the penalty shootout to claim another crown.
And at the last tournament, they staged one of the great comebacks, overturning a 2-0 deficit to against hosts Morocco to claim their record title.
Winning WAFCON Finals has become institutional muscle memory for the Super Falcons, one that is inherited by succeeding squads. And if they do get to the final again, whoever their opponent is, will have to dig really deep if they are to buck what has become almost a foregone conclusion.
Nigeria's deep talent pool
In 2003, faced with a scheduling conflict between the FIFA Women's World Cup and the All Africa Games, the Super Falcons solved the problem by putting together two teams, one to play at each tournament.
If there is one thing that is not in short supply for Nigeria, it is talent in abundance. Across every generation, Nigeria's tournament roster reads like an All Star team.
No other country in Africa has more players playing professional football around the world. That pipeline comes from the thousands of girls who play football on a regular basis in small competitions sprinkled across the country, and end up in the NWFL before the best of the best find their way abroad.
It is why Nigeria have never lacked gifted footballers, in quality or quantity. Every other contender has stars, but Nigeria have it in depth.
The Super Falcons are the one team who can lose experienced players without fundamentally changing who they are. Any other team losing a defender of the quality of Ashleigh Plumptre would be gasping for air. Not the Super Falcons.
That depth is what separates Nigeria from the rest of their rivals. South Africa would struggle to replace the influence of Refiloe Jane, Morocco would undoubtedly feel the loss of Ghizlane Chebbak, and Zambia would struggle to replace the combined influence of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji.
But the Super Falcons can swap Asisat Oshoala for either Folashade Ijamilusi, Chinwendu Ihezuo or even leave Monday Gift out of the squad entirely and still win the trophy.
