Daily Independent Online.
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Friday, July 02, 2004.
Omagbemi out of Olympics
Long-serving Super Falcons captain Florence
Omagbemi has pulled out of this year's Olympic Games because of injury.
Omagbemi said she took the decision in the
interest of the country.
"A scan revealed that I had torn a
knee ligament during one of our league games," Omagbemi told
KickOffNigeria.com. "I had two options, either to go for corrective
surgery and be out of the game for about two or three months, or take treatment
and play through the Olympic Games before going for the surgery.
"In the end, I decided to put the
country first, and opt out of the Games to allow a fitter player to be there. I
love my country, and we are in a very difficult group with Japan and World Cup
runners-up Sweden. It is important that every player who is picked to play is 100
percent fit, and if I cannot guarantee that I will be fully committed, there
was no reason for me to go," Omagbemi said.
Omagbemi has played in every major
tournament for Nigeria since 1991, and says the decision to withdraw was a
painful one.
"I always love to play, and it is a
painful decision for me to take, but I want to assure the girls and all
Nigerians that I am fully behind the team and I have confidence in the coaches
that they will select only the best players for Nigeria."
The twenty-nine-year old Omagbemi has
captained Nigeria since she was sixteen and led the country to its first ever
World Cup in 1991. She made her international debut fresh-faced teenager in the
Falcons first ever international; a 7-2 mauling of Ghana in 1991 in a qualification
match for that year's World Cup, and has remained a dominant figure ever since.
At last year's Women’s World Cup,
Omagbemi became one of a select group of five players who have played in four
World Cup finals, a group that includes the legendary American super star Mia
Hamm.
