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Moving the Goalposts | Can Nigeria rise above ‘avoidable chaos’ and end Olympics drought?

13-Feb-2024 11:50:44 | Guardian

Africa’s most decorated national side last played at Games in 2008 and enter key qualifier after issues with coach and squad

After Nigeria’s creditable performance at the last World Cup, nearly beating the eventual finalists England in the last 16, the natural progression for the Super Falcons, the most successful national team in the history of African football, with nine African titles, is to be serious medal contenders at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

But their presence as one of Africa’s two representatives at the summer Games is anything but certain. Although Nigeria have never failed to qualify for the Women’s World Cup since it began in 1991, qualifying for the Olympics has been a different bowl of fruit. It has been the banana skin that the Falcons keep slipping on.