As many football fans professed, some lame excuse popped out of nowhere to cancel the proposed Ethiopian Women’s Olympic team Lucy’s away international friendly match with Gambia. The Ethiopian Football Federation called off the friendly showdown through its Public Relations Office on Thursday. Lucy faces Cameroon for the Tokyo Olympics second round two leg qualification showdown in the first week of August with the winner to book a place to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Public Relations office of EFF announced the shocking news that the friendly match is no more to take place due to financial problems. “It costs more than 1.2 million Birr for transport only,” stated the federation public relations office. Proposing then backing off commitments is an old and same trick of the federation as well applied on Ethiopian national teams at all levels. Knowing finance is the first step to be considered for such undertakings, why the federation proposed a disheartening proposal only to back off later is a riddle in need of a witch hunter.
Defeating Uganda 4-2 in the first round two leg qualification matches, Lucy were supposed to have at least one international friendly match ahead of the second qualification face-off against continent’s Africa’s heavy weight Cameroon. But with false promise from Ethiopian Football governing body, no one could challenge the morale of the players’ as well coaching staff when the encounter takes place in August.