Nine-time African champions Nigeria and Mali will officially kick off the Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Tournament at the newly remodeled Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Lagos Island.
Both teams will lock horns on the lush turf of the new, impressive arena, hitherto known as the Onikan Stadium, and which has now been upgraded to a jaw-dropping, compact venue capable of hosting a range of international games.
All the teams taking part in the tournament are on ground, with South Africa’s Banyana Banyana last to arrive on Monday eveningafter a six-hour cruise aboard a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg.
The nine-day competition will see the Malians slug it out with hosts Nigeria and Morocco in Group A while Group B is made up of Cameroon, South Africa and Ghana.
Head Coach of Mali Women National Team, Saloum Mohamed Houssein believes his side will have a good outing at the Aisha Buhari Cup tournament holding in the City of Lagos, Nigeria.
“We are very happy to be among the invited countries for a competition that features the best women’s teams on the continent.
“We are barely one month away from the start of the qualifiers for the Women AFCON, so it’s a good test for us. We have the ambition to fight for a good result in Lagos, even as our group opponents are Nigeria and Morocco.
The last time the Female Eagles of Mali played Super Falcons, they got thrashed 8-0 in 2015 (their biggest ever defeat in history) and Atlas Lionesses also beat them 6-2 on aggregate in a double-header friendly.
Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, who has not hidden his keen desire to see to the success of the six –day invitational in the City of Aquatic Splendour, made his way unannounced to the Mobolaji Johnson Arena both on Monday eveningand on Tuesday morning, with firm gubernatorial directives to the contractors to get done quickly with the little touches left on the structure.
