Chris Maduewesi
Member
Former coach of the Super Falcons Ismaila Mabo has claimed that the Nigerian girls are no longer the strongest team on the continent.Having won the African Women's Championship(AWC) for a record eighth time,the Super Falcons are the most successful in Africa.
However,speaking about the draws for the forthcoming AWC taking place in Namibia,Mabo warned the Nigerian team against getting ahead of themselves thinking that they are still the best.
The Super Falcons have been grouped alongside the host nation,Namibia;Zambia and Ivory Coast.
“Women’s football in Africa has become tougher than it used to be, there are no small teams again. The Falcons are no longer the strongest team in Africa. The best team is decided on how well they prepare before the tournament,” Mabo told The Punch
“Namibia and Zambia may look easy on paper, but they’re not. The hosts will not want to lose at home, and Zambia are also coming up in women’s football. Ivory Coast are West Africans, and they’re no different from the likes of Ghana .
“In the past, Nigeria was able to dominate because we prepared well for the championships, but now we’re not the only ones gearing up for the title. Every team in Africa is now putting more efforts into their preparation and ready to put up fights to be at the World Cup.”
The AWC tournament will be played in October with the Super Falcons hoping to reclaim the title which Equatorial Guinea won two years ago.
Only the top three qualifying teams will qualify for next year's Women's World Cup taking place in Canada.