Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons will this week end preparations for the Africa Women Cup of Nations, as they round off their last phase of camping, as the squad will leave their training base at Sol Benin in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in midweek.
Footballlive.ng can report that the team on Sunday entered the last week of their preparations for this month’s competition in Ghana, but will spend only two more days training before traveling to the host nation.
Ahead of the biennial competition’s opening ceremony on Saturday, the Nigerian team will this Wednesday fly from Abidjan to the Ghanaian capital, Accra before making their way to their group base in Cape Coast.
In their efforts to get the best foundation for the 11th AWCON, the Falcons have spent a week at Sol Beni Sports Centre, owned by Ivorian top club, ASEC Mimosas, in Abidjan.
The Falcons’ camping in the Francophone West African nation came after an initial three week preparatory program at Jubilee Chalets & Resort in Epe, Lagos State.
The eight time champions will now aim for a great start to their campaign in Group B of the female continental showpiece, with their first match coming up next Sunday against South frica.
Coach Thomas Dennerby’s lasses will contend with Banyana Banyana of South Africa in their first game, before taking on Shepolopolo Queens of Zambia and Equatorial Guinea, who were only last week restored into the tournament in place of Kenya, following a CAF appeal ruling.
Only Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea have been successful at the 20-year-old continental fiesta, with the Falcons emerging winners on eight occasions, while their new group rivals won the title on the only two previous occasions the most successful side did not triumph.
While the Guineans have won on the only two occasions they hosted the tournament (2008 and 2012), the Falcons won at home in 1998, 2002 and 2006, in South Africa in 2000, 2004 and 2010, in Namibia in 2014 and the last time out in Cameroon in 2016.
After the first round matches in Cape Coast, Nigeria will seek to await any one of hosts Ghana, Algeria, Mali and Cameroon for the semi-finals, after the other four battle it out in Group A in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
