Omagbemi defends Whyte’s invitation to Super Falcons

The women national team tactician has defended her decision to extend an invitation to the Rivers Angels goalkeeper ahead 2016 AWCON

Nigeria women coach Florence Omagbemi has leapt to the defence of under-fire Super Falcons goalkeeper Ibubeleye Whyte by insisting she has no problem inviting her.

The 21-year-old’s invitation to the African Women’s Cup of Nations has been criticised owing to her lack of playing time with her Port Harcourt based outfit, but the Super Falcon’s handler feels her experience will be valuable to the team.

“I’ve no problem with Whyte. She has been with the U20 national team since 2012 in Japan,” Omagbemi told Goal.

“She was in that group with myself and the former coach [Edwin Okon]. We know what Whyte can do. We used her in the U20 and we used her during the qualifier against Senegal.

“We are not trying to assess Whyte now or this is not the first time we are seeing Whyte.

“Couple of them have issues with their clubs and had reasons why they were not playing for their various clubs.

“But when they come, if their performance is below what we expect then we make a decision on that.”