The Super Falcons’ quintet of Ashleigh Plumptre, Francisca Ordega, Vivian Ikechukwu, Halimatu Ayinde, and Ifeoma Onumonu would not be part of the training sessions as the team reported to camp in Abuja yesterday ahead of the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco next month. The players will join the rest of the squad in North Africa next week, according to the Nigeria Football Federation, while Nicole Payne, Uchenna Kanu, Desire Oparanozie, and Regina Otu are due in Abuja this weekend. Nigeria, who have won nine of the 11 Women Africa Cup of Nations championships held so far, bundled out Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in the qualifying series and will play South Africa, Botswana and Burundi in the group stages in Morocco. All four semi finalists at the tournament in Morocco will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand in the summer of 2023. Meanwhile, the Super Falcons have maintained their 39th position in the latest women’s ranking released by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) on Friday and remain number one in Africa.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 18, 2022 12:00 UTC