Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade is relishing the opportunity to make her first ever Olympics appearance for Nigeria at the Paris 2024 Olympics but they do have a daunting task to scale to book their ticket.
Rasheedat Ajibade who scored the lone Nigeria goal that threw Cameroon’s Lionesses out of the Women Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco 19 months ago, and also netted two of the goals that eliminated Ethiopia in the second round of these qualifying series concedes that Falcons have no fear of whatever the arch rivals (Cameroon) can bring to the turf of the MKO Abiola National Stadium.
“We are determined to take this opportunity. We have another 90 minutes to make our claim to the final-round ticket and we are focused on a positive result.”
However, Coach Jean-Baptiste Bisseck is also confident of the ability of his Lionesses to turn the table against the nine-time African champions in Nigeria’s administrative capital.
“We will play on the Abuja field as if we are playing at home. Cameroon will not entertain any fear. The Lionesses are prepared to win and make progress.”
Both teams will compete on a clean slate on Monday evening having battled to a barren ending in Douala, with the winner most likely to be up against reigning African champions South Africa for a place in Paris.
Nigeria’s Falcons featured at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Australia in 2000, Greece in 2004 and China in 2008, but have not qualified since their outing in China 16 years ago. Cameroon’s only previous outing was at the London 2012 Olympics.
Leave a comment