Falcons star reports missing money at Morocco hotel
July 25, 2026 12:30 pm
File: Super Falcons
Super Falcons forward Esther Okoronkwo has accused cleaning staff at the Morocco hotel where the team camped ahead of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations of stealing cash from players’ rooms.
Okoronkwo made the allegations in a series of Snapchat posts on Friday, detailing how the alleged thefts were discovered and how hotel management responded.
In the posts, Okoronkwo said the money went missing while the players were out of their rooms and the cleaners were in to tidy up.
Nigeria camped at a hotel in Casablanca as part of preparations for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations before the squad’s scheduled departure for Rabat, venue of their Group C matches, on Friday.
“The cleaning people stole the money. So they waited while we weren’t in the room to clean and steal the money,” she wrote in one post.
She urged teammates and followers to “write bad reviews” against the hotel.
Okoronkwo initially said $500 had been taken from her belongings before issuing a correction.
“Guys I did my calculations wrong; they actually stole 700, not 500 USD,” she wrote, alongside a photo of teammates in the hotel.
She listed several other squad members she said were affected.
According to her posts, a teammate identified only as Hali (Halimatu Ayinde) had $100 taken, another player, Osi (Asisat Oshoala), also lost $100, while a player identified as Joy (Joy Omewa) had £120 stolen.
She said a further, unspecified amount was also taken from a teammate.
She said the squad confronted hotel staff over the missing cash but got no clear explanation.
“We started talking to them, and they don’t have answers. They also started being disrespectful,” she wrote.
Okoronkwo added that after she reported the matter, front desk staff showed little concern, stressing that neither of them seemed troubled by the report.
She rounded off the posts with a strong warning to prospective guests, describing her experience at the hotel as poor and alleging that its staff steal from guests.
Deborah Abiodun and Gift Monday completed the Super Falcons’ squad at their Marriott hotel camp in Casablanca ahead of the tournament, with head coach Justine Madugu fielding a full 25-player squad as preparations intensified.
The defending and 10-time champions opened their title defence in Morocco with qualification for the World Cup and a record two-million-dollar first prize on the line.
PUNCH could not immediately reach the hotel or the Nigeria Football Federation for comment on the allegations as of the time of this report.
Fawzi is a journalist and subeditor covering a wide range of beats including politics, metro, and international news, among others. He also optimises stories for digital audiences.
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