By Nelson Alade
Nigeria’s Super Falcons have suffered series of racial abuse with several key players’ victims on social media just before their opening match against Malawi in the ongoing 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
According to multiple sources the players were targeted by various social media accounts posting Emojis of monkeys, bananas and other primates images.
According to reports, the online abuses and attacks followed an allegation of theft made by AFC Toronto Fc forward , Esther Okoronkwo that cash was stolen from players’ rooms at the Marriott Hotel in Casablanca, where the team was camping.
Okoronkwo, the Super Falcon forward and star of the final match against hosts Morocco in the last edition where Nigeria recorded a dramatic comeback 3-2 victory had claimed via her social media handle that she lost about $700 while teammates Rasheedat Ajibade, Asisat Oshoala, Halimatu Ayinde and Joy Omewa also lost cash before the team moved to Rabat.
Okoronkwo’s allegations however resulted into backlash from numerous social media users believed to be Moroccans who flooded her Instagram page with abusive comments. Reports says many of the comments contained monkey emojis, gorilla images and other primates.
The racist abuse was not limited to Okoronkwo, with reports indicating that other Super Falcons players also became targets of similar comments across various social media platforms.
However a statement by the Nigerian Football Federation NFF has condemned the racist abuse, stressing that any form of discrimination in football is unacceptable and has no place in the game.
The statement also revealed that the suspect involved in the cash theft has been caught and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, while the stolen cash has been recovered and returned in full.
The Super Falcons who are drawn in Group C alongside Zambia, Egypt, and Malawi lost 3-2 to debutants Malawi onTuesday in their opening match at the Al-Madina stadium in Rabat.
