MATCH officials from Niger Republic and Burkina Faso have been appointed by the Confederation of African Football to take charge of the 2022 AWCON qualifier between Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
The match, which is the second leg of the final round of the qualifiers, is billed for Abidjan on Friday. The Super Falcons won the first leg 2-0 in Abuja last Friday, with Ifeoma Onumonu scoring both goals.
Nigerien Zouwaira Souley will be the centre referee for the second leg, to be assisted by her compatriot Hawa Douno Moussa (assistant referee 1) and Lamouni Latifah Laura Pare from Burkina Faso (assistant referee 2). Another Nigerien, Nafissa Sani, will be the fourth official/reserve referee.
Ayawa Dzodope from Togo will serve as match commissioner, with another Togolese, Edzona Lawson-Hogban, as referee assessor.
Interestingly, all the match officials are from French-speaking West African countries, just like Cote d’Ivoire.
Nine-time champions Nigeria are already in Abidjan for the encounter after flying in from Abuja on Sunday. They will hope to avoid another upset from the Ivorians, who prevented them from qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Super Falcons trained at the Palais des Sports on Sunday after their arrival. The 23-woman Super Falcons squad in Abidjan are without injured captain Asisat Oshoala but include Onome Ebi, Onumonu, Ashleigh Plumptre, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Rasheedat Ajibade, Toni Payne, Rita Chikwelu and Gift Monday.
Wednesday’s clash is scheduled for the Stade Robert Champroux in Abidjan from 4pm Ivorian time (5pm Nigerian time), with the winners on aggregate qualifying for the 2022 AWCON in Morocco in July.
The Falcons are expected to have a feel of the match venue on Tuesday evening.
