Super Falcons left without opponents as international window begins

Boluwatife Kehinde
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‎The Super Falcons are on the verge of missing out on the ongoing women’s international football window, as the Nigeria Football Federation continues its urgent search for friendly matches for the team.
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‎The international window, which spans from Monday, November 24 to Tuesday, December 2, permits national teams to play at least two matches. However, Nigeria has yet to secure any official fixture for this period.
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‎According to Punch Newspaper, one of the proposed friendlies was recently rejected. Reports from Nigeria Football reveal that the setback came after a national association that had already agreed and signed a match contract with Nigeria suddenly pulled out.
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‎The withdrawal was reportedly influenced by the opposing team’s head coach, who preferred to face what he viewed as a “weaker team” rather than take on the reigning African champions.
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‎Meanwhile, the NFF President had stated at the end of 2024 that the days of poor preparations for Nigeria’s national teams were over.
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‎“The era of Nigerian teams attending major tournaments merely to participate is gone. Our focus now is to ensure our teams can compete for trophies anywhere in the world, and that begins with proper preparation ahead of qualifiers and competitions,” Gusau said in 2024.
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‎Several nations, including Ghana, who will face England on December 2 ,as well as Zambia, Kenya, and South Africa, have already arranged friendly matches for the window.
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‎As of the August rankings, the Super Falcons remain Africa’s top-ranked team and 36th globally. The next FIFA rankings are scheduled for release on December 11.