The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) stripped Asisat Oshoala of the Super Falcons captaincy armband due to poor performance, demands and rebellion.
According to The cableAn NFF insider says the federation’s top brass made the decision after considering Oshoala’s recent failure to replicate her club form in Falcons colors where she last scored in February 2021 against Equatorial Guinea.
With FC Barcelona, the Nigerian star striker has scored 19 goals in the last 16 games.
The source said the group of captains was deemed to be “weighing him down”, hence his below-par performance for the national side.
The four-time African Footballer of the Year has also reportedly made demands that top NFF bosses have deemed excessive.
“The last seven games she has played for Nigeria, despite scoring goals for Barcelona, she hasn’t scored a single goal for us. Not only that, her performance has been horrendous in each of these games,” the insider said.
“This development has made the powers-that-be feel like this group of captains is weighing it down, because if you’re doing well for your club, you can’t replicate it for your country, so there must be something wrong.
“Plus, she’s become something else, really. Require this and that. Insisting that there should be the same travel arrangements for Falcons and Super Eagles. She has become something else.
The 27-year-old became the team’s captain in 2019 after Desire Oparanozie was dismissed for alleged dissent following the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Recovering from a knee injury, Oshoala was not included in the 25-member squad named by Super Falcons head coach Randy Waldrum for the two-legged international friendlies against Canada.
Onome Ebi captained the team for the first leg of Saturday night’s encounter.
The return match will be played on Tuesday, April 12 at Langford’s Starlight Stadium on Vancouver Island.