By Abiola Olawale
In a captivating tale of patriotism and resilience, Super Falcons defender Michelle Alozie has shared the extraordinary story of how she earned her place on Nigeria’s women’s national football team.
Allozie, a Houston Dash star, who recently helped Nigeria clinch its 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title in 2025, opened up about what she called visa crisis and player shortage that unexpectedly paved the way for her international debut.
The New Diplomat reports that in 2021, the Super Falcons faced a logistical nightmare while preparing for the SheBelieves Cup in the United States.
Visa complications and a shortage of players left the team scrambling to field a competitive squad.
Coach Randy Waldrum, then managing the Super Falcons, was forced to scout Nigerian-American players to fill the roster.
Alozie, who spoke with the press revealed that Waldrum reached out to her and after just one training session with the team, she was called up, marking the beginning of her journey with the Super Falcons.
She said: “I always say it’s a fluke. But maybe it was like God setting a plan for me.
“They [Super Falcons of Nigeria] came for the U.S SheBelieves Cup and they had so many visa issues. They almost had to withdraw from the cup because they didn’t have enough players.
“The coach then, Randy Waldrum, he reached out (I’m not even joking) to like, maybe every Nigerian-American (woman) that was playing soccer in the U.S just so that we can fill the roster.
“He [Waldrum] had no idea who I was and I just happened to be in Houston, happened to be Nigerian-American. It was like a perfect scenario.
“They [Waldrum’s coaching crew] came to one training session and they were like…see you at training tomorrow.
“And then I trained with them for one day, and he was like..amazing!, you’ll make the roster for tomorrow’s game. And I was like Oh..alright! I guess I’m here, I guess I’m playing now, and ever since then I’ve been on the national team.”
The New Diplomat reports that Alozie made her international debut for Nigeria on 10 June 2021 as a 65th-minute substitution in a 0–1 friendly loss to Jamaica.
