Pioneer captain of Nigeria’s Senior Women National Team, Florence Omagbemi has posited that the upcoming Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Tournament is a great booster to the development and sustainability of women football on the African continent.
The 46-year-old, who is the first woman to have won the Women Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and as coach, opined that the tournament will help the six teams to prepare ahead of their AWCON qualifiers.
“The Aisha Buhari Cup is a big boost to women football development in Africa,” Omagbemi said. The former Boston Breaker player believed that the tournament will be an opportunity for Super Falcons’ Coach, Randy Waldrum to see his team play against fellow top African teams. “This will allow the coach a better look at the squad against African teams and also give the fans an opportunity to watch their darling team compete against some of the best in Africa.”
As the countdown begins for the prestigious Aisha Buhari Invitational Tournament, we list four key Super Falcons players to watch out for: Asisat Oshoala, Onome Ebi, Rita Chikwelu and Rasheedat Ajibade.
Asisat Oshoala is the reigning African Woman Player of the Year. She is a toast of all fans in African football. A role model in football for the upcoming players, her eyes for goal remains ever-sharp, no wonder she is playing in one of the biggest teams in the world, FC Barcelona. The former FC Robo Queens of Lagos goal-poacher will be the chief tormentor of the opponents’ defence when the Aisha Buhari Invitational Tournament gets underway in a few weeks.
Onome Ebi is the oldest player in the team as well as the most capped player in the present Super Falcons’ squad. Her wealth of experience in the defence-line can never go unnoticed; she is a trojan in the defence with fabulous qualities such as aerial power and timing in tackling. Game-reading ability is her greatest strength. Above all, she is a leader on and off the field of play.
Rita Chikwelu is another Nigerian professional who plays for Spanish club, Madrid CFF. She previously played for Umea IK and Kristianstads DFF. A midfield general, combative in the middle of the park with amazing skills, full of strength, Rita’s sense of creativity in the middle of the park is renown.
Rasheedat Ajibade is a product of FC Robo Queens who passed through the junior category before she finally graduated to the Super Falcons. She shone brightly for the Flamingos and Falconets. She is versatile, can play as a central striker as well as from the wings. Her versatility brought about the meteoric rise in her career as a professional footballer. She is definitely one of the star players to watch out for in the Aisha Buhari Invitational Tournament.