As the Super Falcons travel to New Zealand for the 2023 Women's World Cup, the seven-time African Women's Cup of Nations participant will continue her professional adventure
Super Falcons captain, Onome Ebi, has spoken out against those who think she ought to have left the squad when she turns 40 in May.
The Nigerian international seems unconcerned with her age, despite the fact that she is just a few games shy of a century of appearances for Nigeria and has been in five World Cups, making her the first African player to do so.
The age of the former Ataşehir Belediyespor hero, who is presently 39 years and 15 days away from turning 40, has come under fire.
After a dismal tenure in which she only made one appearance for Levante Las Planas, the former Duvenciler Lisesispor center-back, who had only been with the Spanish club for four months, was also let to depart.
It is considered that her age had a significant part in her ability to give an excellent performance for her team when she was younger.
However, Onome, who has been said to be ageing and cannot deliver too much of performance as indicated to Beatsandrhymesfc that she doesn't feel the age restriction and is fully capable of playing additional games.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel like this! I honestly don’t understand why I don’t feel the age thing.
“If you see me and the way I play, you would never believe I’m that age. I look at myself in the mirror sometimes and I say to myself, ‘What am I doing differently that’s making me still be this fit?!’
“I don’t feel it, that’s the thing. When I’m home, and I’m on break, I train with the guys, so the way I match with them, it’s unbelievable to me sometimes.
“I ask myself, ‘Is this you? Are you even aging at all?’ I know, yeah, there will be a time that I must quit this game, I must retire, but when I don’t feel it, when I feel so fresh, I feel like I want to train every day.” she said.
The Super Falcons have been seeded to play Australia, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland in their world cup event, which will take place in New Zealand.
When asked about her age in more detail, the Bayelsa Queens legend explained that she performs important duties on her team, which has allowed her to maintain her spot in the starting lineup. As a result, she will continue to play until she chooses to retire.
“I don’t see any reason (to stop), unless I make that decision myself. All my life playing, I’ve never been a reserve player, I’ve never been on the bench, and that should show people that ‘this lady is giving something, that’s why they’re using her.’
“If I start feeling, ‘Okay, it’s time to step down,’ I will make that decision myself, because I don’t want to get to a stage where young ones start messing me up on the pitch. I feel okay right now, so…we’ll see!” she added
The Super Falcons will play Canada in their first 2023 World Cup match, followed by the tournament's co-host and then the Republic of Ireland.
