Ayinde Halimatu reveals reasons for Super Falcons squad omission in face-off against Ethiopia

Super Falcons are slated to tackle Ethiopia in a doubleheader clash for the 2024 Olympic qualifiers

Super Falcons midfielder, Ayinde Halimatu, has revealed why she was left out of Randy Waldrum’s squad for the Olympic qualifiers against Ethiopia, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 28-year-old midfielder played a pivotal role in the Super Falcons’ 11-time Africa Women’s Cup of Nations triumphs and their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign, anchoring the midfield alongside Christy Ucheiba.

Her absence in the Super Falcons’ double-header against Ethiopia will be sorely felt, as she was omitted from the 19-woman squad for the matches.

However, her performances with Rosengard in the 2023-24 campaign have been limited, with just two appearances out of seven games played by her club so far. This same limitation extended to the national team due to circumstances beyond her control.

In her own words, “I won’t be joining the Nigeria women’s national team for our upcoming match against Ethiopia due to circumstances beyond my control. Wishing my Super Falcons teammates all the strength and success on the pitch in Addis Ababa!” She expressed this on her X (formerly Twitter) platform.

The first leg of this important fixture is scheduled to kick off at the Abebe Bekila Stadium on Wednesday, starting at 3:30 PM Ethiopia time, which corresponds to 1:30 PM Nigeria time.

For the return leg of this crucial tie, the teams will compete at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Tuesday, 31st October 2023.

The team that secures victory on aggregate will progress to face the winner of the Cameroon/Uganda fixture for a place in the final qualification round.