Barcelona attacker, Asisat Oshoala has been stripped off her captaincy of the the Nigerian senior women’s national team, Super Falcons.
The decision was reportedly necessitated by the former Arsenal Ladies forward’s performance at the Aisha Buhari Cup with the captaincy believed to be affecting her form on the pitch.
According to SportNewsAfrica, a senior official of the NFF revealed that the decision on Oshoala wasn’t taken in bad faith but in order to help the attacker rediscover her form with the Super Falcons.
“We have no issue whatsoever with Asisat [Oshoala]. But thoughts of stripping her of the armbard came after Aisha Buhari Cup last September.” The senior official was quoted as saying.
“This is not for anything negative but for troubling concerns of seeing her struggle in national team colours. We and the coach [Waldrum] observed the captaincy is weighing her down and affecting her play. With or without it, we believe she is a true professional player and should not struggle to prove otherwise by delivering on the pitch.”
Oshoala was named Super Falcons captain in September 2019 by Chris Danjuma after captain of the team at the time, Desire Oparanozie was stripped off her armband following a contention with the NFF.
Super Falcons veteran Onome Ebi is reported to be the new captain. And she’ll be assisted by Francesca Ordega.
Ebi, 38, is the most experienced player in the team. And she is a veteran of five World Cups. She previously held the band in the past and captained the Super Falcons to their last AWCON success.
A delegation of the Super Falcons left Nigeria on Tuesday night and connected a flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver on Wednesday. The other players are to fly direct to Vancouver from their bases in Europe and the American continent.
Also Read : CANADA CONFIRM TWO FRIENDLIES WITH SUPER FALCONS OF NIGERIA IN APRIL
The Nigerian senior women’s national team will clash with reigning Olympic champions Canada in two friendly matches that will hold over three days in the cities of Vancouver and Victoria City.
Both matches take place Friday, April 8 and Monday, April 11 respectively.