Ahead Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Onyenezide replaces Ayinde

.As three miss Falcons’ Ethiopia clash

Midfielder Esther Onyenezide, who impressed at last year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica as Nigeria reached the quarterfinals, has been drafted to take the place of 2023 FIFA World Cup star, Halimatu Ayinde in Nigeria’s squad for the 2024 Women Olympic Football Tournament fixture against Ethiopia’s senior national team.

The delegation of home-based players, technical and backroom staff from Nigeria flew into Addis Ababa on Sunday for tomorrow’s opening leg encounter at the Abebe Bekila Stadium. The foreign-based players have started arriving for the big match as well.

The Super Falcons will host the second leg of the second-round fixture at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja on October 31, 2023.

Midfielder, Regina Otu, who missed the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand in the summer, and defender Osinachi Ohale, who plays for Pachuca FC of Mexico, have been ruled out of the fixture. Another World Cup star, Christy Ucheibe of Portuguese club, SL Benfica, is also out of the encounter.

The winner on aggregate will confront the winner of the fixture between Cameroon and Uganda. The Indomitable Lionesses drew a bye, while Uganda overpowered Rwanda 4-3 on aggregate.

Ethiopia’s senior girls, nicknamed Lucy, turned back the senior women’s national team of Chad 10-0 in the first round of the series, played in July. The Ethiopians won the first leg 6-0 in Addis Ababa on July 13, before lashing their hosts 4-0 in N’Djamena five days later.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed Lamia Atman from Algeria as referee for tomorrow’s encounter, with her compatriots, Asma Feriel Ouahab, Sara Kemmad and Ghada Mehat as assistant referee 1, assistant