In the case of our women though,we're in hot peppersoup.They will have to play their yanshes off to qualify from that Group of Death.Every other team is a SUPERPOWER.But then again,with the Falcons who blow hot and cold,U never know which team will show up on the field.I think it will tremendously help the girls' moral if the NFA can keep their off-field shenanigans to a minimum this time and have the team well prepared.I've been up close and personal in post match gatherings(on two ocassions) in which the morale of the women's team is very very low,so low sometimes you can only imagine how they keep on keeping on.The officials do a very horrible job of taking good care of the team.How,for instance,can a team be wearing THE SAME kit for an entire competition,someone wants to tell me they can't afford to give these girls multiple kits?I mean,has anyone every noticed how the Nigerian women's team never exchanges jerseys with opponents after matches simply because they do not have replacements?This is horrible.
Same goes for paying their match bonuses,but they hardly get the bare minimum that the NFA has assigened to them.I recall like two years ago when the team refused to leave South Africa after qualifying for the world cup because someone was holding on to their money.How can U compete on the global stage when U have these sorts of things to deal with?So,win or lose,I commend the girls' team.They must have nerves of steel to keep on trotting and trying their hardest to make the country proud.I recall in 1999 when they came for the Women's world cup,after the match,they were supposed to be paid $1500 each....but instead were reportedly even thankful to have gotten $500.Someone walking around with a huge GMG bag of moola was pocketting their money.In 2003,a few of us hung out with them in Philly after a match and they told us their issues.When the NFA tried the same thing with the Super Eagles in 2001 we all saw what happened:half the guys didn't show up for a # of matches and we almost didn't qualify for the world cup.
As far as this year,for the women,honestly,in this group,I won't be expecting Nigeria to qualify from this group.My expectation?Close losses,perhaps two ties @ the most.If they win one or two matches,that will be a huge plus.They have come very close before against both Germany and Brazil,losing by 1 goal after leading 1-0 with barely 10 minutes to go.Against Brazil we nearly pulled an upset,losing 4-3,so..it's not undoable..it's just a huge task considering all our opponents have teams that could grab the Olympic gold
Pa

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....Perception Is Everything....

Pa