Falcons’ protest shameful, annoying, but… — Okobi

THE recent protest by the Super Falcons was shameful and annoying, but was necessitated by circumstance, according to Ngozi Okobi.

Members of the national female football team, on their return from Cameroon, where they won the 10th edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations early this month, had embarked on a sit-in protest which later graduated into a street protest in Abuja  over their unpaid entitlements before they were eventually paid.

But while speaking on Wednesday, Super Falcons player, Ngozi Okobi, said the protest, though “was shameful and annoying”, they “had to do that.”

According to the midfielder, protest was initially, not in their plan, but when it dawned on them that they might not  get the desired attention, they had to do the needful.

“It was frustrating…They just said ‘you girls should go home, when the money is ready we will call you,’ and it is not right we have famillies to take care of when we get home and it is Christmas, so we had to take a decision, though it was shameful and annoying, but we had to do that,” Okobi told BBC on Wednesday.

However, she says what happened will never dampen her morale from encouraging any up and coming player to pursue a career in football if she so desires.

She also added that it won’t stop her from representing the country again because football is what she loves wholeheartedly.

“I will continue to advise every young girl out in the street that if you have passion for football, just go ahead and get it.

“Football is something you feel, like me, I feel football a lot; like my life, so I don’t see anything that will stop me. Playing for my country or my club, I love football a lot,” said Okobi, who plays for Vittsjo FC of Sweden.