The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has strongly dismissed a viral social media report claiming Super Falcons defender Ashley Plumptre complained about being excluded from Nigeria’s squad for the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
In a statement released on Tuesday, the federation described the story as false and renewed its call for journalists, media organizations and members of the public to verify information before sharing it.
The fake report, which circulated on Facebook, alleged that Plumptre had expressed frustration over her omission from the squad set to defend Nigeria’s continental title at the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco.
The NFF has dismissed viral claims attributed to Ashley Plumptre regarding her omission from Nigeria’s WAFCON squad, warning against fake social media accounts and misinformation.
However, the NFF clarified that no official squad has yet been submitted by the coaching crew.
NFF Director of Competitions Ruth David said the report originated from a fake account impersonating the Saudi Arabia-based defender.
“This is totally false,” David said.
“Last year, Ashley Plumptre made a video in which she categorically said that she is not on Facebook; that some fellows are impersonating her and that she has tried several times to bring down the page without success.”
David stressed that Plumptre remains absent from Facebook and warned the public against trusting content published by accounts claiming to represent the former Leicester City defender.
“Nothing has changed about her absence from Facebook; the player is not on Facebook, and nobody should believe anything that emanates from the cloned account,” she added.
The federation also pointed out that similar misinformation campaigns have previously targeted other Super Falcons players.
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According to David, a fake report earlier suggested striker Esther Okoronkwo had complained about being left out of Nigeria’s squad for friendly matches against Senegal. The NFF explained at the time that the forward was unavailable because she was recovering from injury.
The federation also referenced previous false reports claiming six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala had retired from international football.
David urged media practitioners to exercise greater caution when reporting stories sourced from social media.
“We appeal to well-meaning individuals to double-check whatever news item they see anywhere before escalating the same to other spaces,” she said.
“The incidence of fake news has become overwhelming, and it is important that media owners and media workers consistently verify what they push out there for the sake of their own integrity and credibility.”
Plumptre also responded to the viral claims, revealing that she has been dealing with online impersonators for more than a year.
“Awful false accounts,” the defender wrote.
“I’ve posted on my IG and X for people to report. They are using my identity and scamming people. I’m currently contacting someone in Saudi Arabia to help me take these accounts down because this has been happening for well over a year now.”
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