Nigeria’s Super Falcons goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, has her sights set firmly on qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, according to an interview with Saturday PUNCH.
“I read so much about the Olympics,” Nnadozie said. “We didn’t manage to qualify in 2020, I felt bad at first, then I said to myself ‘Come on, you have time ahead of you’ and that’s it, another great opportunity to qualify.”
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The upcoming match against South Africa holds extra weight for Nnadozie, who has called Paris her “second home” since joining topflight club Paris FC in 2020.
“I want to know what it feels like to participate in the Olympic Games,” she expressed.
France is not just Nnadozie’s adopted home, but also the place where her international career ignited.
“It was in France that the shot-stopper burst onto the international scene on June 17, 2019,” the report details. Nnadozie made her debut that day against the French national team, the “Bleues,” in Rennes.
Nnadozie’s coach at Paris FC, Sandrine Soubeyrand, holds her in high regard. “She is one of the best goalkeepers of her generation,” Soubeyrand said.
Nnadozie’s talent is backed by accolades. She was nominated twice for best goalkeeper in the French league (UNFP) and later claimed the prestigious title of Best Women’s Goalkeeper in Africa at the 2023 CAF Awards.
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Her leadership skills were also on display at the last FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she captained Nigeria to the round of 16. Now, she’s determined to lead her team to the Olympics.
Nnadozie faces a tough challenge against reigning African champions, South Africa, in a two-legged qualifier on April 5th and 9th.
Nigeria’s last Olympic appearance was in 2008, with Toby Oluechi guarding the goal. Nnadozie finds inspiration in Oluechi’s words:
“‘It’s a great tournament, according to her,'” Nnadozie shared. “Through all her stories, I want to qualify even more.”
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