Former captain of South Africa’s Banyana Banyana, Simphiwe Dludlu, has expressed skepticism over Nigeria’s Super Falcons’ chances of claiming the title at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Despite the Super Falcons’ record as the most decorated team in the tournament’s history with nine titles, Dludlu is not convinced they can go all the way this time around.
Nigeria, led by coach Justine Madugu, are grouped among the top contenders for the title alongside defending champions South Africa, Zambia, and Ghana.
But Dludlu believes the era of Nigerian dominance is fading.
“I look at them and I think the rest of Africa has caught up. Because if you remember, Nigeria used to be the only team that exported a lot of quality players outside of Nigeria and outside of Africa, which means they played in big leagues and they competed long before everyone could think that women could make it overseas,” Dludlu said during an interview with Lagos Talks FM.
The former defender added that the rest of the continent has improved, making the competition more balanced.
“The rest of Africa is catching up, so the playing field is a bit more level. However, I just think that the Nigerian side doesn’t feel like they’ve been challenged by anyone consistently.
“South Africa might have challenged them in 2018, beat them in the first game and then they still won in the final. In 2022, they didn’t even get on the podium.
“Teams have levelled up, and there hasn’t been a lot of clarity in that Nigerian side. When you’re a champion like Nigeria, you have to keep setting the bar higher and higher for everyone else to see that you are at that level.
“They’re not making anyone run; they’re giving hope to the other teams that they can take them on. Botswana almost pulled a draw out of them,” she concluded.
The Super Falcons are scheduled to clash with the Copper Queens of Zambia in the quarter-final stage at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca on Friday.
