By Super Falcons forward Esther Okoronkwo has accused hotel cleaning staff in Morocco of stealing cash from players’ rooms during the team’s camp ahead of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. AfrikTimes has not independently verified these allegations, and they remain solely Okoronkwo’s account as shared publicly.
The forward laid out the claims in a series of Snapchat posts on Friday, alleging that the thefts happened while players were out of their rooms and cleaning staff had access to tidy up. She said cleaners “waited while we weren’t in the room to clean and steal the money,” and encouraged teammates and followers to leave negative reviews of the hotel.
According to her account, the amount she said was missing shifted between posts, she initially cited $500 before correcting the figure to $700. She went on to name several teammates she said were also affected: Halimatu Ayinde reportedly lost $100, Asisat Oshoala another $100, and Joy Omewa £120, with a further unspecified sum allegedly taken from another player.
Okoronkwo said the squad raised the issue directly with hotel staff but received no satisfactory explanation, describing the response from staff as dismissive and, at points, disrespectful. She added that even after formally reporting the incident, front desk personnel showed little concern.
The allegations surfaced as Nigeria’s squad prepared to leave their Casablanca base for Rabat, the venue for their Group C fixtures. The team, which also includes Deborah Abiodun and Gift Monday among the 25 players named by head coach Justine Madugu, is defending its title as reigning and ten-time African champions, with World Cup qualification and a record $2 million first prize on the line.
Neither the hotel nor the Nigeria Football Federation had responded to requests for comment by the time of this report.
