Travel Issues Delay Arrival of Super Falcons Players

Travel problems held up the arrival of Super Falcons midfielder Deborah Abiodun and forward Gift Monday at Nigeria’s training camp in Casablanca. Their flight from the United States got cancelled due to technical issues, as reported by PUNCH Sports Extra.

The Nigeria Football Federation said both players reached the airport only to find out their flight was cancelled. This forced the federation to buy new tickets for them to continue to Morocco.

Despite this setback, the Super Falcons’ camp grew to 23 players on Tuesday afternoon with the arrival of forward Folashade Ijamilusi from China.

Ijamilusi, a former junior international, scored twice at the last Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, including Nigeria’s equaliser in their thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Morocco in the final. She landed in Casablanca just before 3pm.

Ijamilusi plays for Liaoning Shenyang Shenbei Hefeng in China. Abiodun and Gift will join coach Justine Madugu’s 25-player squad for the tournament.

The 10-time African champions are preparing at the La Noria Club in Casablanca. They will soon head to Morocco’s capital, Rabat, for their Group C matches against Malawi, Zambia, and Egypt.

A meeting with officials from the Confederation of African Football and the Local Organising Committee is set for Saturday, July 25.

Nigeria enters the 2026 WAFCON as defending champions and holds the record for the most titles in the competition’s history, with 10 wins.

The Super Falcons will kick off their title defence against Malawi on Tuesday, July 28. They will then play Zambia on Saturday, August 1, and Egypt four days later in their final Group C match.

This year’s tournament will also act as the African qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The four semi-finalists will qualify automatically, while one more team will get a spot through intercontinental play-offs.