Falconets World Cup bid under threat from home comp

Sports

THE Nigerian Under-20 women’s team, the Falconets’ preparation for the Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup in PNG is being threatened, following the incessant demand from clubs in the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) for their players for league matches.
Coach Peter Dedevboon on Tuesday said that within the two weeks since his camp started, he has released players on several occasions for club engagements.
He lamented that while he was still contending with the late arrival of overseas-based players, clubs like Bayelsa Queens, Sunshine Queens and Nasarawa Amazons, whose players make up the bulk of the home-based girls in the camp, want all their players returned for midweek and weekend matches.
“This situation is not easy for me and my technical crew because a lot of the players we need to work with are being dragged away by their clubs to honour midweek and weekend league matches,” Dedevboon said.
“Bayelsa Queens, Nasarawa Amazons and Sunshine Queens want their players for matches throughout the week till Oct 27.
“This is frustrating my training schedule because it means I have only a few days to work with the full complement of players before we leave for the tournament.
“I have always built the foundation of my team on the home-based players. The absence of players affected the trial match we had last Sunday.”