The need to make Nigeria and Africa proud in world sports has again been highlighted in the bid to spur the nation’s female football team, the Super Falcons, campaigning in this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, to greater glory.
Speaking at a reception held in honour of the Nigerian female football team, Wednesday, in Brisbane, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Australia and the Pacific Region, Amb. Anderson N. Madubike, called on the players to display the skills and the sporting grace for which Nigeria is renowned across the globe in order to make the nation and Africa proud.
He thanked the team for their previous accomplishments and successes across Africa and the world in past competitions and also congratulated them on being one of the few teams that qualified for the global tournament.
Amb. Madubike called on them to realize that each of them is an Ambassador of sorts for Nigeria to the games, saying with their calibre of players and their technical team, they had the capacity to go past the quarter-final best record of the West African sub-region in the global tournament to the semi-final stage.
He challenged them to go ahead and make history for the nation and for themselves, adding that it was a thing of honour and responsibility for them, like himself, to be representing a nation of over 220 million people before the world in the competition.
He said: “You must bear in mind that whatever success you achieve here today will enhance your individual careers going forward. You have a great team; a good technical team and all it takes for you is to remain focused and not allow any form of distraction at this stage. Just work as a team and professionals in your games.
“Again, you must also bear in mind that the government and people of Nigeria are looking up to you for a very successful competition.The High Commission here in Australia, Nigerians in the Diaspora and, indeed, all Africans here are behind you.You know they trust us when it comes to global competitions like this. We are all with you all the way,” Amb. Madubike said.
The Nigerian Envoy, who expressed confidence that the Mission would celebrate with the team in a bigger way after the tournament, also promised to be there for them and their officials through out the duration of the one-month long championship.
He said the Mission had earlier visited and inspected their dressing-rooms in both Melbourne and Brisbane where the team will be campaigning for laurels and informed them that everything had been put in place to ensure that they enjoy a happy and memorable tournament.
While thanking the Nigerian Mission in Canberra, Australia, for the honour done to them, Skipper of the Nigerian female side, Onome Ebi, promised to impress Nigerians by surpassing their previous records in the global tournament and making it to the semi-final stage and beyond.
She added that the team was in good spirits and in good physical form for the games.
The Super Falcons arrived Australia on Tuesday, July 5. The 9- time African champions, who have participated in all the championships since the inception of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991, are being camped at Mercure Hotels, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Australia.
The Nigerian side are expected to undertake a 15-day training period before the commencement of the championship on July 20. The Super Falcons will face joint host, Australia, Canada and the Republic of Ireland in Group B. From their first game on July 21 in Melbourne, the team will continue to other games spread between Melbourne and Brisbane.
Credit: Attractions Magazine Nigeria
