GENERAL Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation, Muhammad Sanusi, has charged the Super Falcons to work as a team and bring their best game to Tuesday’s 2024 Olympics second round, second leg qualifier against Ethiopia at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Sanusi made this assertion after watching the nine-time African champions train at the Turf Arena in the Federal Capital and also reminded players and officials that Nigeria had been absent from the past three Women Olympic Football Tournaments and this certainly does no credit to the country’s rating as a leading global power in women’s football.
The Falcons played a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia in the first leg of the doubleheader encounter at the Abebe Bekila Stadium, Addis Ababa last Wednesday and will hope to get a win on Tuesday with an eye on the winner of the other game between Cameroon and Uganda as they head for the final round of the qualification series.
After failing to qualify for the 2016 and 2020 editions of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo respectively, Sanusi charges the Falcons to book a place at next year’s event in Paris.
“The whole world still talks about how you captivated everyone at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand during the summer. The Government of Nigeria, the NFF and all stakeholders remain very proud of you. The NFF loves you and is happy with your outing and general conduct at the World Cup, on and off the field of play.
“Now, it is time to destroy this vexed issue of Olympics jinx. The last time you attended the Olympics was in 2008, in China. That was a long time ago. Missing three consecutive tournaments is enough; we have to take our place in Paris. I am happy with your game in Addis Ababa and I know you have the capacity to finish off the job here in Abuja on Tuesday.”
The Falcons trained at the Turf Arena on Friday and Saturday before moving to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium on Sunday.
On Monday, both the Falcons and visiting ‘Lucy’ will have their official training sessions on the turf of the magnificent arena.
Meanwhile, the delegation of Ethiopia’s senior women’s national team arrived in Abuja on Sunday, ahead of Tuesday’s crunch tie.
The 35-person delegation flew into the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport just after noon on Sunday aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight.
Also in Nigeria’s Federal Capital is the squad of match officials, led by Christine Ziga from Ghana, who will serve as the match commissioner.
