Rivers Angels FC will begin their participation in the 2021 Aiteo Cup on Thursday, July 8 against Kwara Ladies inside the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium in Benin.
Head coach of the side, Edwin Okon says the encounter will serve as a good tune up for them as they continue preparations for their WAFU B qualifiers in Abidjan, Coted’voire next week.
The Jewel of Rivers who were finalists in the last edition lost their chance of securing a record 9th title 5-4 on penalties to Nasarawa Amazons.
They are however pumped up this year following their qualification for the WAFU B with an opportunity to feature at the maiden edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League billed to hold in Egypt later this year.
Kwara Ladies are coming back from an almost two weeks Nigeria Women Footbal League (NWFL) Championship competition where they failed to secure promotion back to the Premiership but Okon believes they’d be a good test for his side because according to him, they are in a good match form.
“I am only going to use this game on Thursday to ascertain the level of mental and physical readiness of my girls ahead of the task in front of us,” stated Okon.
“Like I’ve said before, we are going to meet a team just coming out of a competitive league tournament in Abidjan so playing Kwara Ladies will be to our advantage.
“I’m not saying we’ve not had any quality match before now but you know these things are never enough until you achieve your target,” he added.
Okon however reiterated that he wasn’t going to take Thursday’s game lightly because ‘underdogs’ can sometimes be a tough nut to crack.
“We are not going to underrate Kwara Ladies come tomorrow because experience has taught me how teams like this can make things very difficult for you”, Okon continued.
“I have told the girls to approach the game the same way they would when they play bigger teams because you don’t want to make headlines for the wrong reason in times like this.
“I equally believe a win tomorrow will boost their morale and prepare them mentally as well,” he concluded.
Kickoff of Thursday’s game is 3pm
