The Super Falcons have pulled out of an invitational women’s tournament in Turkey due to logistics.
The Nigerian ladies were due to travel on Monday ahead of their opening match against Kazakhstan on Wednesday but did not have enough time to secure visas due to their participation in the WAFU Women’s Cup in Cote d’Ivoire.
The Falcons were in action in Abidjan only on Saturday, where they defeated Mali 2-1 to win the bronze medal at the inaugural WAFU Women’s Cup.
The eight-team tournament in Turkey would have been the African champions’ second tournament in 2018 after the WAFU Women’s Cup for a team that did not play any football for over one year.
The Super Falcons had not been involved in any sort of action since winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in December 2016 until the WAFU Women’s Cup this February.
“It was impossible for the team to sort visas and make it to the tournament in Turkey, so they had to pull out,” Nigeria Football Federation spokesman Ademola Olajire explained BBC Sport.
“They only just finished playing the Wafu Cup on Saturday and had a short time-frame to sort out visas and other important logistics for the trip to Turkey.
“Importantly, attention and preparations will shift towards the big friendly against France in April.”
