The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has debunked a social media report which claimed that Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Super Falcons defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, has been excluded from the list of players to represent Nigeria at the upcoming Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
The Federation, in a message by its Director of Competitions, Ruth David, while cautioning media workers and persons in the public space to consistently also appeal to them to make the effort to verify news items they see on social media or any public space before escalating the same to other spaces.
David cited the examples of Esther Okoronkwo and Asisat Oshoala, who were also linked with such fake news in the recent past while adding that the list of players to WAFCON has not been submitted by the coach.
She said, “This is totally false. Last year, Ashleigh Plumptre made a video in which she categorically said that she is NOT on Facebook; that some fellows are impersonating her and that she has tried several times to bring down the page without success.
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“Nothing has changed about her absence from Facebook; the player is not on Facebook, and nobody should believe anything that emanates from the cloned account.
“The other issue is that the coach has not submitted any list of players for the Women AFCON, so the scamster got it all wrong. The same scamster was at work some weeks ago stating that Esther Okoronkwo (a Super Falcons’ striker) made the same claims, when in fact the player was not invited for the Senegal friendly matches simply because she was nursing an injury.
“We recall that some time ago, there was a report that Asisat Oshoala (a Super Falcons’ striker) said she had retired from international football, which was patently false. We appeal to well-meaning individuals to double-check whatever news item they see anywhere before escalating the same to other spaces.
“The incidence of fake news has become overwhelming, and it is important that media owners and media workers consistently verify what they push out there for the sake of their own integrity and credibility.”
Plumptre has also debunked the fake news item on Tuesday: “Awful false accounts. I’ve posted on my IG and X for people to report.
“They are using my identity and scamming people. I’m currently contacting someone in Saudi (Arabia) to help me take these accounts down because this has been happening for well over a year now.”
The Super Falcons will be defending their title at the 14th WAFCON taking place in Morocco from 25th July to 16th August this year.
