25th July, 2012
Nigeria’s U-20 women football team, the Falconets are heading back home after playing one of their two scheduled friendly international matches in Accra, Ghana, yesterday.
The team are heading back home after a 2-3 loss to their Ghanaian counterparts, the Black Princesses, in their first match.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Falconets had been scheduled to face the Black Princesses in the second match on Thursday, July 26.
But Ghana Football Association (GFA) had suspended all planned sporting activities for the week, following Tuesday’s death of the country’s President, John Atta Mills.
The Ghanaian president died yesterday afternoon, leading to the suspension of many official activities in the country.
The General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Musa Amadu, confirmed to NAN in a telephone interview early today that the Falconets were cutting short their trip.
“It is obvious that that is what has to happen, following recent developments in Ghana,” he said.
Amadu said the team are expected back in Nigeria today or tomorrow.
“It all depends on how soon they can get a flight back to Nigeria. We are hopeful this can be on Wednesday (today), but if not, then we will be expecting them on Thursday (tomorrow),” he said.
NAN reports that the team had on Monday departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos for Accra, where they were to play two friendly matches yesterday and tomorrow.
It was part of their preparations for the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup scheduled for August in Japan.