Amina had scored seventeen goals by December. By February, she could not sleep through the night. By March, she was vomiting before training sessions — not from illness, but from a dread she could not name.
Nigerian football does not have a word for burnout. It has 'tired,' which is fixed by sleep. It has 'pressure,' which is solved by prayer. It has 'weakness,' which is corrected by silence. Amina had been silent for three seasons.
The NinetyMinds wellness circle met in a community centre in Garki every Tuesday. Amina walked in on a rainy evening, wet boots in hand, and sat in the back.
The circle did not offer advice. It offered witness. Six other athletes — a goalkeeper from Kano, a midfielder from Jos, two wingers from Lagos — nodded. They had all broken, in their own ways.
Within six weeks, Amina was sleeping again. Within ten, she scored a hat-trick against her former club.
'I used to think mental health was for people who couldn't handle the game,' she said. 'Now I know: handling the game is mental health.'
"The circle did not fix me. It sat with me until I could fix myself."
— Amina Ibrahim, Forward