Ordega, Onome excluded from Falcons Olympic squad

CSKA Moscow Women forward Francisca Ordega and Israel-based defender Onome Ebi have been left out of the Super Falcons 18-player list for the women’s football event of the Paris 2024 Olympics as Nigerians look forward to the announcement of Randy Waldrum’s squad for the Games, The PUNCH has learnt.

The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11.

SUNDAY PUNCH reported that two top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation had tried to impose Ordega on a reluctant coach Randy Waldrum, while another report (not The PUNCH) stated that Onome tried forcing her way into the team.

However, a source at the NFF told The PUNCH that both players will play no part in the Falcons campaign in Paris.

“I can reliably tell you that both players will not be part of the Olympic squad. Coach Randy is in charge of the team and if he says he needs both players tomorrow, it’s his choice. But as we speak, both players aren’t in the team,” our source stated.

Waldrum’s reported insistence on excluding Ordega from his Olympics team, the forward voiced her desire to play at the Olympics in Paris.

“I even asked if he (Waldrum) really did not want me on his team. He should just say it, so I can focus on my club career. It is very embarrassing to hear I am being imposed on a coach after all the sacrifices and hard work to make the country proud.”

In an Instagram reel, Bnot Netanya of Israel defender Onome also bemoaned the lack of opportunity to end her career on a high at the Games.

“To tell you that NFF people are begging him (Waldrum) to put me on the (Olympics) list, let that Randy come and say it live, the way I am doing,” Onome said.

 “Marta is going to the Olympics to be honoured, and she will only appear in a few games. That is how to honour people who want to leave the national team.

“But it’s different in my country. They will use insults to frustrate your life. They have been frustrating me since I was 36, 37 and 38 to leave the national team.”

Onome’s last Falcons appearance was at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where she played six minutes in Nigeira’s goalless draw against Republic of Ireland.

She is the first and only African footballer male or female to play in six World Cups and featured at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, which incidentally was the last time the Falcons featured in the competition.

The Falcons secured their spot in the 2024 Olympics after a 16-year absence and are grouped alongside Spain, Brazil, and Japan at the tournament.

They are expected to be in Spain for a 10-day training camp before the start of the Games.