Nine-time African champions Nigeria will hit Cameroon’s industrial and economic capital, Douala, as they would leave this night in continuation of the search for a ticket to another appearance at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament after 16 years.
This is even as a cross section of Nigerians spoken to said they had confidence in Coach Randy Waldrum delivering the Olympic Ticket.
The Super Falcons last participated at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in China in 2008, when they lost by the odd goal to both Democratic Republic of Korea and Germany in Shenyang, and 1-3 to Brazil in Beijing to crash out at group stage.
The route to London 2012 was blocked by Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses, who won a penalty shoot-out in Yaounde after both teams finished the two legs in a stalemate. Equatorial Guinea made the journey to Rio 2016 impossible and Cote d’Ivoire bumped the Falcons in the race to a place in Tokyo.
After eliminating Ethiopia in the second round of the series, the Super Falcons must now cross the Cameroonian hurdle to reach the final round of the African qualification series, and throw down the gauntlet to whichever opposition appears at that stage in two months’ time.
The first leg encounter will take place at the Stade de la Reunification in Douala on Friday evening, with Ugandan official Shamirah Nabadda as referee. Her compatriots Lydia Nantabo, Jane Mutonyi and Diana Murungi will serve as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively. Khadija Rezzag from Morocco will be the referee assessor while Lukusa Kanjinga from Democratic Republic of Congo will be the commissioner.
Coach Randy Waldrum has selected 21 players, who will all be on the trip to Douala, and then fly down to Abuja on Sunday morning for the return leg against the Lionesses, which will hold at the MKO Abiola National Stadium on Monday evening.
Waldrum and his assistants will lead the full squad on a training session at the main bowl of MKO Abiola National Stadium on Wednesday evening before the delegation’s departure to Douala. The team will have the official training at the Stade de la Reunification in Douala on Thursday evening.
By Tuesday afternoon, only attacking midfielder Toni Payne and forward Uchenna Kanu were being expected at the team camp, with Kanu scheduled to turn up on Tuesday night and Payne expected on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, a fan, Chukwuemeka Anosike, while tweeting, said Waldrum had proven to be a good and experienced manager.
“We saw what he did in the last women World Cup; he knows it and it is good he was retained; I him we Nigerians trust.”
Another fan who spoke to SportsDay, Abiodun Femi, acknowledged the efforts of the American manager at the last World Cup and said with him, there is hope for the Super Falcons.
“With him, there is hope for the Olympics ticket because he knows our players very well as we saw at the last women World Cup,” he said.
