ABUJA – The national senior women team, the Super Falcons, will on Friday, April 4 engage the national under-17 male team, the Golden Eaglets, in a friendly match.
A statement from the Falcons’ Media Officer, Gracious Akujobi, on Thursday in Abuja said the match is in preparation for their African Women Championship (AWC) qualifying matches.
It said the match would be played at the FIFA Goal Project pitch at the Abuja National Stadium by 7.30 a.m.
The statement quoted the team’s Head Coach, Edwin Okon, as saying the match would serve as a wake-up call to the players.
“We decide to organise this friendly so that some of these girls will not think being here is a jamboree.
“The friendly is a wake-up call, that here is not where you will come, relax, sleep, eat, get up and jump to training, and then come back to camp.
“We are not thinking of the goals we can score. We just want to see what we will do with the boys (the Eaglets) because we all know that boys are faster than girls.
“So, we want to see how they (the Falcons) can match up with the tempo of these boys.
“Even if we play a game of 30 or 40 minutes in each half, the training will be all-encompassing because we will use it to train, screen and watch their pace,” Okon said.
The Super Falcons had resumed camping on March 30 in preparation for their friendly match against their Cameroonian counterparts on April 15.
The camping was however mainly in readiness for the AWC qualifying matches against Rwanda.
Rwanda will host the first leg match between May 23 and May 25, while he return leg match will be played between June 6 and June 8 in Nigeria.
The statement also quoted the Falcons’ team co-ordinator, Henrietta Ukaigwe, as saying that some of the players invited to camp would not be available for the friendly.
“Rivers Angels’ Stella Mbachu has asked to be excused, while goalkeeper Dikachi Uzor and forward Tawa Ishola are in Qatar at the moment.
“Also, defender Osinachi Ohale has been given special permission by coach Okon to join the team by the weekend because she went for trials in the U.S.
“All other players are in camp, except Adejoke Ejalonibu and Miracle Ozubbu who have not communicated with the camp,” Ukaigwe said.(NAN)
