USA-based forward, Francisca Ordega, says she regrets playing for the Super Falcons due to the country’s negligence for female football.
Ordega, 23, was instrumental as Nigeria clinched their eight Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) title in Cameroon last week.
The country’s recent triumph is her third since making her debut for the Falcons in 2011.
Despite their remarkable feat, Ordega and her teammates are yet to be paid by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
This and other reasons prompted the Washington Spirit forward to question the country’s management of women’s football.
“If I had not played for Nigeria at full international level, trust me I would have played somewhere else,” a frustrated Ordega who has played for Nigeria at various youth levels told Africanfootball on Tuesday.
“The U17 and U20 teams have been blamed for the performances at their recent World Cups, but they were poorly prepared for these competitions.
“If this continues, Nigeria will soon cease to be a force in Africa because there will be no future Super Falcons.”
The statement could not be more different from what she told the media after the AWCON final on Saturday.
“I feel excited and so happy, it is like a dream come true winning the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations again with Nigeria,” Ordega said after 1-0 final victory against Cameroon at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé.
“When you work hard and achieve at the end, you will feel so proud about it.
“I think the next step for us is to go all out and showcase our talent to the world and not just in Africa.
“We have to do much better, not us but the NFF should take care of us and arrange more international friendlies for us. With that, I think we will do better on the world stage.”
