Ethiopia’s senior women national football team, also known as Lucy, arrived in Abuja, on Sunday, ahead of their Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier against Nigeria’s Super Falcons.
The teams played a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the qualifier in Addis Ababa last week and will meet again tomorrow to decide who plays either Cameroun or Uganda in the next round of the series.
The 35-person delegation flew into the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport yesterday aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Match officials have also arrived Abuja for the game. The officials, led by match commissioner, Christine Ziga from Ghana, include centre referee, Edoh Kindedji from Togo, with her compatriots Abra Sitsofe Agbedanou and Kossiwa Kayigan Awoutey, who will serve as assistant referees. Yacine Samassa from Mauritania will serve as fourth official, while Daloba Oulare from Guinea will be the referee assessor.
Meanwhile, Super Falcons have intensified their preparation for the game, which victory will aid their bid to return to the Olympics after missing the last three editions.
The Falcons trained at the Turf Arena on Friday and Saturday before moving to the MKO Abiola National Stadium yesterday.
They will have their official training session at the MKO Abiola Stadium, today, before yielding the ground to the Ethiopians.
Captain Rasheedat Ajibade, Toni Payne, Gift Monday, goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, Omorinsola Babajide, Esther Onyenezide, Oluwatosin Demehin, Peace Efih, and Michelle Alozie all looked very sharp in training, although Alozie was given time off to recover from the slight disorientation caused by a late knock to the face during the first leg.
Speaking after watching the team’s training session, at the weekend, Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Secretary General, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, urged the girls to work as a team and bring their A-game to tomorrow’s match.
Sanusi spoke after watching the nine-time African champions train at the Turf Arena in the Federal Capital, and also reminded players and officials that Nigeria has 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 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.”
