Falcons Criticism Unfair, Says Captain Ajibade

Ayomikun Elemikan

August 14, 2026
3 min read
Rasheedat Ajibade

Super Falcons captain, Rasheedat Ajibade, has described the heavy criticism directed at the team following their disappointing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign as unfair. She insisted that the players remain fiercely determined to secure a place at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Falcons are currently focused on making the most of a second opportunity to reach the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The team lost their automatic qualification chance following a narrow 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon at the WAFCON on Sunday.

To keep their World Cup dreams alive, Nigeria must beat South Africa in Casablanca on Thursday. A victory will advance them to FIFA’s inter-confederation play-offs, which are scheduled for November and December, providing an alternative route to the global tournament.

Nigeria endured a highly turbulent start to their title defence. They suffered a shock 3-2 loss to debutants Malawi before bouncing back with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Zambia and a commanding 6-2 thrashing of Egypt to seal their place in the knockout stages.

The subsequent quarter-final defeat to Cameroon not only ended Nigeria’s hopes of defending their WAFCON title and winning a record-extending 11th crown, but it also denied them an automatic ticket to the World Cup. Following the exit, the team came under severe criticism from disappointed fans back home.

During the pre-match press conference ahead of the crucial South Africa clash, Ajibade urged supporters to recognise the immense sacrifices made by the players when representing the country.

“A lot of people don’t know what players are going through to come and represent the country. Players put in everything on the pitch, and people will still say what they want to say. It is not fair, and we can do better as a person, as a nation,” Ajibade stated.

She addressed the toxic nature of online reactions, noting that having access to social media does not justify constantly bashing people.

“For us, we have seen all of those things, and we know that all we are trying to do is make the nation proud. We are not going to the pitch to mess anybody up,” she continued. “When you see the jersey, we wear the family name, so that is at stake as well. We also want to win as much as you want to win. We felt everybody’s pain, and we felt the support that we got last year. That is what we want to keep doing.”

Nigeria remains the most successful side in WAFCON history with a record 10 continental titles. The Falcons dominated the competition from its inception, lifting the first five editions between 1998 and 2006.

After brief interruptions by Equatorial Guinea and South Africa over the years, Nigeria most recently reclaimed their crown at the 2024 WAFCON by defeating hosts Morocco.

With Nigeria and all other past winners now officially out of the current title race, a brand new champion is guaranteed to emerge in Morocco this year.