The arrival of Super Falcons midfielder Deborah Abiodun and forward Gift Monday at Nigeria’s training base in Casablanca was held up after their scheduled flight out of the United States was cancelled for technical reasons.
The Nigeria Football Federation said both players got to the airport only to discover that their flight had been called off, prompting the federation to buy fresh tickets so the pair could continue their trip to Morocco.
Even with that hitch, the Super Falcons’ camp grew to 23 players on Tuesday afternoon with the arrival of forward Folashade Ijamilusi from China. The former junior international touched down in Casablanca shortly before 3pm.
Ijamilusi, who plays for Chinese side Liaoning Shenyang Shenbei Hefeng, netted twice at the last WAFCON, including Nigeria’s equaliser in the dramatic 3-2 comeback win over hosts Morocco in the final. Once Abiodun and Gift join up, coach Justine Madugu’s 25-player squad will be complete.
The 10-time African champions have continued their preparations at the La Noria Club in Casablanca before moving to Rabat, Morocco’s administrative capital, where they will contest their Group C fixtures against Malawi, Zambia and Egypt. Their arrival meeting with officials of the Confederation of African Football and the Local Organising Committee is set for Saturday, July 25.
Nigeria go into the 2026 WAFCON as defending champions and the competition’s most decorated nation with 10 titles. The team will open their title defence against Malawi on Tuesday, July 28, before meeting Zambia on Saturday, August 1, and rounding off Group C against Egypt four days later.
This edition of the tournament doubles as the African qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, with the four semi-finalists booking automatic places and one more team advancing through the intercontinental play-offs.
Source: Punch.
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