While acknowledging the strength of the team, Osahon lamented the exclusion of home-based players who played pivotal roles in securing the Olympic ticket for Nigeria.

In an interview with Brila.net, Osahon expressed his disappointment at the continuous neglect of local talent, highlighting the adverse effects this has on the aspirations of young female footballers in Nigeria.

He stressed that the exclusion of domestic players from the national team is gradually eroding the hope and motivation of these athletes, who see representing their country as a key milestone in their careers.

“It’s not a bad list anyway; it’s not a bad list,” Osahon stated. “It’s just that with the standard of the Nigerian Women’s Premier League, some girls need to be included.’

“Even if it’s just on the standby list, they should be given a chance because playing in the league is part of their aim to get into the national team at different age categories.”

Osahon highlighted the crucial contributions of home-based players during the Olympic qualifiers, noting that several of them played significant roles in securing Nigeria’s spot in the competition.

However, he observed a troubling trend where these players are overlooked when it comes to the main competition, causing disillusionment among the local talents.

“I noticed very well that during the qualifiers, there were so many, about eight home-based players that joined the team to play in the qualifiers.

“But for the competition proper, the home-based players are no longer relevant and are kept aside. That kind of situation is highly demoralizing. They are killing the game gradually. That’s what I see there. The girls are losing hope of playing for the national team.”

The Super Falcons will be up against former World Cup champions, Brazil, Japan and current world champions Spain in the group stage of the women’s football event.