Players and coaches of Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons, are familiarising themselves with the posh ambience and facilities of Stade el Arbi Zaouli in Casablanca, Morocco, where they are scheduled to face Black Queens of Ghana in an international friendly on Saturday.
Sports247 gathered that the encounter will be the Falcons’ final build-up match before they step out against Malawi in their first match at this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where they will also tackle Zambia and Egypt in Group C of the expanded 16-team championship.
Coach Justin Madugu and his players will be all out to snatch a record-extending 11th WAFCON title during this year’s competition, ahead of which they commenced full training on Tuesday at the 30,000-capacity multi-purpose Stade el Arbi Zaouli located in Hay Mohammadi district of Casablanca.
The arena, which is the home ground for Tihad Athletic Sport (TAS) Casablanca men’s club and SC Casablanca women’s team, is located along Boulevard de la Grande Ceinture and boasts of several ultra-modern multi-purpose facilities that include a standard grass pitch, concrete bleachers, neat spectator conveniences, local cafes and seafood restaurants.
The Falcons are now using the facilities to fine-tune their strategies ahead of their first match of Group C against Malawi in Rabat on Tuesday, July 28th, before which they will take on the Ghanaian squad, who are also preparing for WAFCON 2026.
A press release by the communications department of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) added, “The 10-time champions opened camp in Casablanca, Morocco’s industrial and economic capital, on Monday, as final preparations got underway.
“As at lunchtime on Tuesday, a total of 10 players had arrived at the Super Falcons’ hotel in Casablanca, with midfielder Toni Payne, who recently joined Inter Milan Women of Italy from Everton Ladies in England, expected on Wednesday.
“At the team’s Hotel Marriott in Casablanca are captain Rasheedat Ajibade, goalkeepers Chiamaka Nnadozie and Fatima Oloko, defenders Oluwatosin Demehin, Glory Ogbonna, Christy Ucheibe, Shukurat Oladipo and Rofiat Imuran, midfielder Jennifer Echegini and forward Asisat Oshoala.
“The friendly encounter with Ghana’s Black Queens, who lost in the final to the Super Falcons in the inaugural edition of the competition that Nigeria hosted in 1998, will take place at the Stade el Arbi Zaouli, with kick-off set for 4 pm.”
Sports247 reports further that, after taking on Malawi, the Falcons will face Zambia on Saturday, 1st August and Egypt on Wednesday, 5th August in Group C of this year’s WAFCON, from which all four semi-finalists will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, while the fifth-placed team will feature in an intercontinental play-off.
Arise Television’s Morning Show anchor, Rufai Oseni, has criticised presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi, over his alleged lack of visibility and policy inconsistencies ahead of the 2027 general election.
Oseni also raised concerns over reported disagreements between Obi’s political movement, the Obidient Movement, and the NDC, questioning whether the party was adequately addressing the expectations of its supporters.
He made the remarks on Friday while reacting to comments by a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain, Chief Don Ulasi, on the opposition’s preparedness for the 2027 presidential election.
Ulasi had described Obi as the only serious opposition figure capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu, citing the government’s shortcomings in areas such as inflation and rising food prices.
However, the PDP chieftain expressed doubts about the opposition’s ability to capitalise on public dissatisfaction, saying he had not seen sufficient grassroots mobilisation or town hall meetings by the NDC leadership.
Responding, Oseni questioned Obi’s political organisation and the reported disagreements between his camp and the NDC.
He said, “And that goes back to the problem that even this Peter Obi you are talking about. Are you really sure because he’s also having infighting with his NDC political party.
“As we speak today, there are loggerheads between OK movement and NDC, which there’s a lot of disagreement, which a lot of people even say they don’t even trust the high ups there in the NDC as regards if they are even truly after their hopes and aspiration.”
The broadcaster also faulted Obi over his position on petrol subsidy, arguing that the former Anambra State governor had failed to maintain a consistent stance on the policy.
“today, where is his manifesto? He was nowhere, he was found nowhere in the subsidy debate. He said something, then he flip flop on the subsidy.
“At first, he said, ‘Oh, I will keep subsidy. Now he’s saying he will remove subsidy again. But he said he will correct the corruption in there,” Oseni said.
He further argued that Obi had lost some of the supporters who backed him during the 2023 presidential election, attributing the development partly to what he described as inconsistency in his positions.
“So a lot of people have found him flip-flopping, and he has also lost a lot of people from the last election cycle that supported him,” he added.
DAILY POST reports that Obi’s political platform and the cohesion of opposition parties are likely to remain key issues as political actors position themselves ahead of the 2027 general election.
In an ambitious move designed to bypass domestic facility deficits, the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria is launching a high-performance framework centered on extended overseas residency camps and the establishment of a regional center of excellence.
Rather than relying solely on short-term training workshops, national sports administrators are implementing a structural overhaul aimed at transforming Nigerian athletes into genuine medal contenders ahead of the 2027 African Games in Egypt and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Following recent bilateral agreements inked at the World Congress in Bangkok, top national team gymnasts will participate in intensive, six-month international immersion programs hosted in specialised facilities across Turkey, China, Japan, and Azerbaijan.
Under this comprehensive arrangement, host nations will provide elite coaching, specialised equipment, full accommodation, and nutritional support. This prolonged exposure to world-class sports science and high-altitude conditioning is specifically tailored to refine routine difficulty scores and execution precision, areas where African gymnasts have historically lagged behind international powerhouses.
Simultaneously, the federation is capitalizing on its newly expanded international partnerships to establish a modern regional hub in Nigeria.
Designed to serve West and Central Africa, the proposed center will feature state-of-the-art apparatuses provided through foreign equipment-sharing grants. The facility will host joint continental training camps and offer localized accreditation programs for coaches and judges across various disciplines, including artistic, rhythmic, aerobics, and parkour gymnastics.
By pairing multi-month elite training abroad with long-term infrastructure investment at home, Nigeria is positioning itself to shift from a continental participant into an influential gymnastics powerhouse over the next decade. If successfully sustained, this two-pronged blueprint could redefine how emerging nations nurture Olympic-caliber athletic talent outside traditional sports.