Izuchukwu Okosi
The Federation of International Football Association on Monday 12th December confirmed the 29 team base camps for the participating teams at the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand including Nigeria’s Super Falcons.
A total of 14 camps will be based in Australia, while the other 15 will be in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Each team, according to the world football governing body, will use a dedicated team base camp, a first in FIFA Women’s World Cup history.
A Team Base Camp (TBC) is the “home away from home” for teams and includes a training site and accommodation for all the participating teams.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup as one of the semifinalists in the 2022 CAF Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco last July.
READ ALSO: Just In: Super Falcons Grouped With Australia, Ireland, Canada For 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The other nations to join Nigeria are South Africa, Morocco and Zambia while Cameroon and Tunisia will be involved on intercontinental playoffs in February 2023 to determine the possibility of extra African representation.
Nigeria have never missed an appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup since inception in 1991.
In Australia, 14 TBCs have been confirmed across five Host Cities and two regional centres for the 14 qualified teams that will play group matches in Australia.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, 15 TBCs have been confirmed across four Host Cities and three regional centres for the 15 qualified teams that will play group matches in Aotearoa New Zealand, FIFA revealed on its website on Monday.
Nigeria’s best finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup was in 1999 when the Super Falcons reached the quarterfinals of the tournament hosted by USA.
Brazil beat the Falcons 4-3 in the nervy game.
The team have not been able to replicate that performance in latter editions but the tournament has in no small means helped the production of more talents.
The Super Falcons will face Canada, Australia and Northern Ireland in the group stages of the tournament.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
