By Amaechi Agbo

Barely a week after she tendered apology to the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF for demanding for payment of outstanding match bonuses to her teammates, former Super Falcons captain, Desire Oparanozie have been recalled to the team by coach Randy Waldrum, Bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

Waldrum recalled Oparanozie among the 26 players invited to camp ahead of the maiden Aisha Buhari Women’s Invitational Football Tournament in September

Some of the invited players according to Nigeria Football Federation, NFF arrived in the Austrian capital, Vienna for an 8-day training camp as part of intense preparations for some upcoming challenges, most notably the Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Football Tournament.

The City of Lagos will host the six-nation invitational that will see the Super Falcons, Ghana’s Black Queens, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses, Banyana Banyana of South Africa, Morocco and Mali tango in
a celebratory atmosphere in the month of September for a glittering trophy named in honour of Nigeria’s First Lady, Dr (Mrs) Aisha Buhari.

A total of 26 players, alongside technical and administrative staff, are ensconced at the Event Hotel Pyramide Vienna for the purpose of total concentration as Coach Randy Waldrum seeks to harness the different qualities and abilities of individual players to conflate a better and stronger team.

New faces have continued to emerge in the camp of the Super Falcons as Coach Waldrum’s roving lenses have been picking up Nigeria-eligible dames from across the globe to strengthen the squad.

Before the Summer Series tour of the United States of America in June, where the Falcons drew with Portugal and lost narrowly to Jamaica and hosts USWNT, few Nigerian ball fans had heard of Yewande Balogun, Onyinyechi Zogg, Nicole Payne and Michelle Alozie. But they formed part of a group that bonded fabulously with foreign-based and home-based professionals and presaged an interesting future for the Falcons.

Nigeria is in the Club of only seven countries that have qualified for and participated at every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals since the competition was launched in 1991, and has also featured in three Olympic Games.

Waldrum has unearthed even more prospects as the Ijeh sisters (Josephine and Evelyn), Megan Ashleigh and Ninuola Dada are part of the training camp in Austria, even as England –based forward Ini-Abasi Umotong makes a return to the fold of the perennial African champions.

The camp in Austria is the third gathering that the Nigeria Football Federation has arranged for the Super Falcons this year, following an interesting three-wins-out-three account at the Turkish Women’s Cup in Antalya in February and the Summer Series in the USA last month.

First –choice goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, defender Osinachi Ohale, midfield impresario Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene and forward Uchenna Kanu, who all missed the tour of USA for one reason or the other, are in Austria. There is also a return for former captain Desire Oparanozii as well as fellow forward Ebere Orji.

The countdown to the Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Tournament has already started with the Super Falcons insisting the trophy will surely remain in Nigeria after the one-week event. The Falcons have won all but two of the 11 editions of the Women AFCON held since the first edition in 1998.

Oparanozie last played for the Falcons in 2019 after the team were eliminated at the Round of 16 by Germany following a 3-0 defeat in France.

SUPER FALCONS IN AUSTRIA

Goalkeepers: Tochukwu Oluehi (CD Pozoalbense, Spain); Chiamaka
Nnadozie (Paris FC, France); Patience Okeke (Bayelsa Queens); Yewande Balogun (California Storm, USA)

Defenders: Glory Ogbonna (Edo Queens); Osinachi Ohale (Madrid CFF, Spain); Esther Ogbonna (Edo Queens); Chidinma Okeke (Madrid CFF, Spain); Onyinyechi Zogg (FC Zurich, Switzerland); Nicole Payne (West
Virginia University, USA); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash Reserves, USA); Megan Ashleigh (Leicester City, England); Josephine Ijeh (BK Hacken, Sweden)

Midfielders: Rita Chikwelu (Madrid CFF, Spain); Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene (Eskilstuna United, Sweden); Toni Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain);
Mowaninuola Dada (Watford FC, England)

Forwards: Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Francisca Ordega (Levante UD, Spain); Gift Monday (FC Robo Queens); Joy Bokiri (Bayelsa Queens); Uchenna Kanu (Linkopings FC, Sweden); Ebere Orji (Sundsvall
DFF, Sweden); Ini-Abasi Umotong (Lewes FC, England); Evelyn Ijeh (BK Hacken, Sweden); Desire Oparanozie (FC Dijon, France)