Nigeria's Super Falcons have been drawn into Group C of the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (AWCON) with 2018 finalists South Africa, and debutants Burundi and Botswana.
The draw which was held at the Mohamed VI Complex in Rabat, Morocco on Friday, saw 12 teams drawn into three groups of four.
Reacting to the return of the competition which failed to hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Super Falcons stars Rasheedat Ajibade and Onome Ebi both revealed to CAF that they were super excited, and couldn't wait to represent Nigeria at the tournament in July.
Ajibade says the Super Falcons must have fun
"I'm so excited and grateful that the AWCON is back again after four good years. I'd be grateful to God if I'd be opportune to be called to the national team. I'd be glad to represent my national team on that big stage again," the Atletico Madrid forward revealed to CAF.
"What we can control right now is our preparations towards the Nations cup. So we will just do our best as a team to prepare for it.
"It doesn't matter what group we are in, if we can keep defending the title and give it our best, that's what's more important."
"We want to enjoy ourselves, have fun, and make ourselves and our families and the nation proud. That's it. The most important thing is to go out there and have fun and enjoy that big stage again."
"It's not going to be easy, it going to be an aggressive competition, it's going to be a tough competition, but that's the joy of the game."
Ebi excited for Africa's first-ever women's 12-team Nations Cup
"I'm excited, I'm super, super excited. We're back after four good years with 12 teams for the first-ever."
"We're here for the women [of Africa]," the Super Falcons captain revealed to CAF.
A pathway to Australia-New Zealand 2023
Nigeria are three-time defending champions, having won the tournament consecutively in 2014, 2016 and 2018, and have won the AWCON a record 11-times.
In 2018, the Super Falcons defeated Group C opponents, South Africa, to win their 11th title.
The 2022 showpiece will be the first time that 12 teams: as compared to 8 in previous tournaments, will feature at the women's continental event.
The competition, to hold in Morocco from July 2 to 23, 2022, will also double as the African qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The top four teams at the AWCON will automatically qualify for the World Cup with two more teams, proceeding to the inter-confederation play-offs to seek a place in the Australia-New Zealand-hosted tournament.