25th May, 2012
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will confront Zimbabwe in an African Women championship qualifying match scheduled for Harare tomorrow.
The Falcons who departed the country yesterday arrived Harare early today in high spirits with the aim of winning their first match under coach Kadiri Ikhana, who had named a mixture of new and established players of the team for the qualifier.
The team’s head coach on Tuesday listed 21 players including goalkeeper and captain Precious Dede, assistant captain Stella Mbachu, Tochukwu Oluehi, Gloria Ofoegbu, Ngozi Ebere, Chidinma Okoro and Onyinyechi Ohadugha, for the match.
Others are Evelyn Nwabuiku, Onome Ebi, Joy Jegede, Gladys Akpa, Regina Macfancy, Akudo Iwuagwu, Perpetua Nkwocha, Amenze Aighewi and Abosede Olukayode, Desire Oparanozie, Shola Oyewusi, Rita Chikwelu, Gloria Iroka and Esther Sunday.
“The team are on the verge of making the country proud,” Ikhana said, adding that a return leg is billed for June 16 in Nigeria.
He said the team had been in camp for some weeks now and had done a lot of work.
“We are not only knocking out Zimbabwe but going to Equatorial Guinea in November to retain the African title,” he expressed.
The Nigerian ladies have won every edition of the AWC since inception in Nigeria in 1998.
The only exception where the trophy went a different direction was the 2008 edition in Equatorial Guinea, which the host country won.