Falcons technically weak to compete at world level - Ezeocha

Former Nigerian international, Ngozi Ezeocha says the Super Falcons have failed to do well at the FIFA Women’s World Cup because they lacked the technical ability to compete against the best teams at the world stage.

Ezeocha, a member of the Super Falcons squad to the 1991 and 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in China and Sweden respectively, made the declaration recently when she spoke with the press on the state of women's football in the country.

The former defender, now based in United States of America where she is practicing as a registered nurse, noted that teams from Europe and Americas have often dominated the Super Falcons because they went through the basis of football which Nigerian players lacked.

She said unless there is a change of approach in the grooming of Nigerian players, the female teams will continue to struggle against their European and American opponents.

"I feel bad any time I see our team go to the Women's World Cup and fail to excel. I think we lack the technology. I had the opportunity of coaching in an international soccer academy (Vogelsingers Academy), I coached alongside national coaches of Brazil, England, Denmark, Spain and others. Over there, they catch them young and they teach them from the basics. If you miss the basics, there is no way you can do better.

"Here we don't know what the basics are. We just go out there and play but these people start from the technical part of the game. They have a technical team, they have a dribbling team, they have everything, and then when they put that together it makes a whole team. We don't have that here. We just take them to the pitch throw the ball and everybody starts playing.

"When they go to the gym, everybody has a ball; when it is time for technical everybody faces their ball and does the technical, they tell them what to do and they do it. Where will you see that in Nigeria? We need the technology, we need the equipment, and we need the exposure and the money to build a strong team.

"It's not just to gather the players together from different parts of the world a year to the World Cup and you want them to go out there and perform miracle, it doesn't work that way. You got to invest to get something," said the former Pelican Stars of Calabar player.

 Source: The Authority