Super Falcons set for Olympics Qualifier test, await Sudan or Comoros
Nigeria’s Super Falcons have been handed a measured but intriguing path in their quest to return to the Olympic stage, as they await the winner of the first-round clash between Sudan and Comoros in the African qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
At the draw held on Wednesday, 29 April 2026, at CAF headquarters in Cairo, the nine-time African champions were placed among the continent’s top seeds, earning a bye into the second round. It is a familiar position for a side long regarded as a benchmark in African women’s football.
Their campaign will begin in October 2026, with fixtures scheduled between the 5th and 13th, by which time Sudan or Comoros will have emerged from their preliminary duel set for early June. For Nigeria, the objective is clear: secure one of Africa’s two coveted Olympic slots.
The qualification journey is anything but straightforward. A total of 35 nations are in contention, with the process unfolding across five knockout rounds played on a home-and-away basis. The six lowest-ranked teams will open proceedings in the first round, with three advancing to join the seeded sides and other bye recipients in the second round, where the real intensity begins.
Heavyweights such as South Africa and Ghana also enter at this stage, underlining the competitive depth. Elsewhere, the draw has thrown up several eye-catching encounters, including Tunisia against Senegal, Benin facing Mali, and a stern test between Congo and Morocco. Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, and DR Congo are all locked in fixtures that promise little margin for error.
By the time the dust settles in the final round, scheduled for November to December 2027, the field will have been trimmed from 35 to just two Africa’s representatives in Los Angeles, where the women’s football tournament will run from 11 to 29 July 2028.
For the Super Falcons, this campaign carries added weight. Their appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics ended at the group stage following tough contests against Japan, Spain, and Brazil, but it marked a long-awaited return after a 16-year absence.
Now, with the road to Los Angeles mapped out, Nigeria will be intent on not just qualifying but reasserting their pedigree on one of football’s grandest stages.
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