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Sports News of Monday, 15 February 2021

Source: punchng.com

Outrage as NFF drops in-form Oparanozie, invites players without clubs for one year

NFF removes Desire Oparanozie from list of players for the friendly tournament in Turkey NFF removes Desire Oparanozie from list of players for the friendly tournament in Turkey

Many Nigerians have lambasted the Nigeria Football Federation and Super Falcons Coach Randy Waldrum for dropping former captain of the side Desire Oparanozie from the list of players for the friendly tournament in Turkey despite her sterling performances for Dijon in the French league.

The 27-year-old striker has 35 caps for the women’s national team, scoring 22 goals.

The PUNCH had reported that the Oparanozie, who has been in fine was excluded from the team while 38-year-old Onome Ebi, Francisca Ordega, and Chinwendu Ihezuo, who had no clubs they are playing for at present, were included in the 23-man list released by the NFF for the tournament.

It was also gathered Henan Jianye striker, Ihezuo, was unable to return to China to compete in the 2020 Chinese Women’s Super League season despite being under contract for a second season following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Ebi, who was also at Jianye before the expiration of her contract, missed the entire campaign due to the closure of air travels out of Nigeria.

Ordega, who last played for Shanghai WFC, was part of the club’s set up during a preseason tour in Portugal, where they trained before lockdown in March 2020, and has been unable to return to China.

However, Oparanozie’s exclusion had raised eyebrows, with some fans insisting she was sidelined following her part in protests against unpaid bonuses at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, and not for football reasons.

The former Super Falcons captain had also lashed out at NFF for saying that she needed to push harder to be selected.

“Work on my game and push for consistent selection. Those ones who’s been without a club for over a year now, how many of their games did they work on over the past year to merit their inclusion?” she said while reacting to the comment of NFF’s spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, over her exclusion on Twitter.

Olajire, in an interview with BBC, had said, “Oparanozie is still part of the team’s plans, and her non-inclusion has nothing to do with that protest in France because she was not the only one involved. I think she will just have to keep working on her game and, if she gets the opportunity, then push for consistent selection.”



One of the fans, Radio Asensio @Bob_zee1 said, “@oparanozie9, a patriotic servant. Nigeria has failed you. (You) had a bad cut in Senegal, played through it, and still ensured the Falcons won at home.”

“Don’t mind the shameless administrators in this country, just because you protested for your team and fought for the team’s pay, that’s the reason they dropped you, they first removed you as captain! And now dropped you! You are still winning, four assists, two goals in five matches, what’s there to prove again? @OloriFirstlady tweeted.

TheSportsEvangelist @adedejisampson noted that “One can understand what is going. We knew there are some players on that list that are now playing for Instagram FC but never mind. Observations: Dirt in Super Falcons is far more than Super Eagles. Changing captains every now and then, the players are somehow not together.”

Ikechukwu @Ike_chike said, “For protecting the interest of the team as a captain, she was omitted to deter others from standing their grounds. The coach will be ruining his reputation by listening to @thenff for team selection. There is no better striker at the minute in the team…NONE.”

“NFF are disgracing themselves. An active player should work on her game, while people without a club are included,” @alao_seyi added.

Itohan Omozokpia said, “Be strong babe. You were not just an armband leader but a true leader. You did what was expected of a leader – you fought for the right of your teammates. God bless you more.”

Benedict @benniett also said, “Babe, lock up. You’re worth more than a million of them to us. They’re mere politicians without the interest of the game at heart. They would soon start running back with their tails between their legs. For now, just lock up.”

“I don’t understand, Oparanozie is one of the hottest Super Falcons in Europe, it is obvious that there is more to this,” Erons said.