Real Sociedad Star Edna Imade Set to Choose Spain Over Nigeria
Real Sociedad’s in-form striker, Edna Imade, is reportedly set to represent World Champions Spain instead of Nigeria, despite several attempts by the Super Falcons to convince her to play for her mother’s country.
Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu confirmed that Nigeria has made multiple approaches to the talented forward but said her agents and club are pushing for her to choose Spain.
“I made approaches to Edna. We want her to come and play for Nigeria. I tried to reach out two or three times to get feedback on how she feels about representing Nigeria,” Madugu said. “But the agents around her and the team she plays for are really trying to get her to play for Spain.”
Imade, who is on loan at Real Sociedad from Bayern Munich, has been in outstanding form this season. The 24-year-old has scored six goals in her first six Liga F matches, making her one of the league’s top scorers and earning her the Liga F Player of the Month award for October. She also scored the decisive penalty that ended Barcelona Femení’s long unbeaten league run.
Born in Morocco to a Nigerian mother, Imade has lived in Spain all her life and is eligible to represent three countries. Reports suggest that she began the process of completing her Spanish naturalisation earlier this year, signalling her desire to play for La Roja.
For Nigeria, losing a player of Imade’s quality would be a major setback in their efforts to attract top footballers of Nigerian descent. For Spain, her arrival would add even more strength to their already world-class attack.
With paperwork reportedly close to completion, Imade’s international future now appears set with Spain — a disappointing outcome for Nigeria’s Super Falcons.
