Posted by By Sunday Akintoye on
Former captain of the Super Falcons, Kikelomo Ajayi, says the team's ouster in the semi-finals of the ongoing African Women Championship (AWC) was caused by the parade of two male players by their opponents, Equatorial Guinea.
Former captain of the Super Falcons, Kikelomo Ajayi, says the team's ouster in the semi-finals of the ongoing African Women Championship (AWC) was caused by the parade of two male players by their opponents, Equatorial Guinea.
The Falcons, who are the defending champions, lost 0-1 to host Guinea in yesterday's semi-final cracker, in Malabo. This is the first time the Nigerian ladies will miss out in the final of the AWC, which they had won five times in the last 10 years.
Speaking live from Malabo, on Mega Sports, today, Kikelomo said she and her team-mates put in their best to win the game but their opponents were too much for them because of the alleged presence of male players in the Equatorial Guinea squad.
'I want to tell Nigerians back home that Equatorial Guinea paraded some male players in their team. We have raised an alarm on this before the match. Even the Nigerian delegation here in Malabo protested to CAF but nobody listened to us. We tried our best to win the game, but unfortunately we lost out to the hosts,' she said.
Commenting on the teams' performance so far in the championship, the Nigerian Police woman said the team played well in the tourney. She noted that what happened in the AWC showed that there are no minnows in African female football, adding that the era of the Falcons dominating the scene on the continent has gone.
According to her, 'there are no minnows in African football again. We knew that it would be tough. This is part of football; we lose some and win some, nonetheless, I think we have not done badly in the tourney,' she said.