As 32 nations are currently competing in the Women World Cup games, supporters of the Super Falcons of Nigeria have been denied visas by Australian Embassy.
The refusal of the Australian Embassy to grant visas to over 100 supporters under the auspices of Authentic Nigeria Football and Allied Sports Supporters Club has deprived Super Falcons the opportunity of having their own supporters to cheer them in the matches so far played by the team.
This action by the Australian Embassy, we gathered has to do with the fear that if the supporters were granted visas, they might abscond and never return to Nigeria after the completion of the tournament.
However in a press briefing held by the National President of the Authentic Nigeria Football and Allied Sports Supporters Club, Abayomi Ogunjimi, he lamented the club’s inability to support the Super Falcons at the ongoing 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, after they were denied travel visas by the Australian Embassy.
Despite the visa setback, Ogunjimi praised the resilience of the Falcons, who secured a hard-fought victory over co-hosts Australia in their second group game. Despite being outnumbered in the stands, the nine-time African Champions emerged triumphant with a 3-2 victory in Brisbane on Thursday.
He expressed deep disappointment at the manner in which the supporters club was barred from attending the first two games, particularly the match against co-hosts Australia.
He alleged that the Australian Embassy deliberately kept them away, despite the supporters’ club fulfilling all the necessary requirements by submitting the requested documents through the online portal provided by the host nation.
“Their game plan is so obvious, the Australian Embassy are keeping us away intentionally, we would have been on ground to cheer our darling team to victory today (Thursday), but with or without us, our ladies stood tall and silenced their crowd. Football is not a do-or-die affair. We compete, we catch fun, we strive to thrive, but it’s sad that our entry documents have not been granted,” Ogunjimi said.
He added that were still hoping to travel to Australia if the Australian Embassy finally granted them visas, but called on the NFF to help the club secure a refund of the money spent on match tickets for the group stage, if they were not granted the visas.
“If the Australia Embassy can still have a change of mind and consider that we are patriotic supporters club members that have travelled far and wide and revisit our documents and issue our members travel visa, so that we can cheer our team to the level of the final, we will appreciate it. I think if they can achieve this type of result against the host nation without us, they can definitely get to the final if we are there. However, I think we deserve a refund, because we bought tickets for over 100 people,” Ogunjimi added.