Nigeria names 18 players for African Games’ female football tournament

By ADEBAYO  OBAJEMU

Team Head Coach Christopher Danjuma has unveiled his list of 18 players to represent Nigeria at the Women’s Football Tournament of the 12th African Games scheduled for Rabat in Morocco.

Ademola Olajire, the Director of Communications at Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), said in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja that Super Falcons’ number one goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie headlines the list.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the women football event of the Games is scheduled for August 17 to August 29.

“Aside Nnadozie, there are also Joy Duru, Folashade Ijamilusi, Bashirat Amoo, Akudo Ogbonna and Christiana Obia in the Nigerian Under-20 squad that will go up against Cameroon, South Africa and Zambia in Group B of the tournament,’’ Olajire said.

NAN reports that host nation Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Mali and Algeria are in Group A of the tournament.

Nigeria’s women team won the gold medal at the Women’s Football Tournament of the 8th All-Africa Games hosted in October of 2003 in Abuja, repeating the feat in Algiers in 2007.

But Nigeria failed to qualify for the 10th All-Africa Games in Maputo in 2011, before finishing in fourth place in Brazzaville, Congo in 2015.

This time, the Falconets are representing Nigeria and they and their team officials are scheduled to depart Nigeria on Tuesday for Morocco.

They will play their first match against South Africa at the Stade Academie Mohammed VI on Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. Morocco time (9 p.m. in Nigeria).

Nigeria will afterwards keep a date with Cameroon at the same venue and time on Aug. 21.

They will round off their group phase campaign against Zambia at the Stade Boubker Ammar-Sale on August 24 starting from 7 p.m. (8 p.m. in Nigeria).

THE FULL LIST
================

Udukobong Peter (Ibom Angels); Bashirat Amoo (Confluence Queens); Joy Duru (Nasarawa Amazons); Chiamaka Nnadozie (Rivers Angels); Gift Monday (FC Robo); Grace Igboamalu (Nasarawa Amazons); Folashade Ijamilusi (FC Robo); Dooshima Tarnum (Nasarawa Amazons); Zainab Olapade (Sunshine Queens)

Esther Momoh (Confluence Queens); Akudo Ogbonna (Sunshine Queens); Catherine Kenneth (Rivers Angels); Patricia Innocent (Sunshine Queens); Christiana Obia (Osun Babes); Cynthia Aku (Rivers Angels); Omowunmi Oshobukola (Sunshine Queens); Precious Christopher (Confluence Queens); Rebecca Ajimuda (Edo Queens)