The Nigerian Senior Women's national team, Super Falcons, has been drawn against Cameroon in the 8th edition of the African Women's Championship to be hosted in Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria is in Group A alongside Cameroon, ranked number two in Africa, Ivory Coast, and Ethiopia.
Head coach of the Falcons, Kadiri Ikhana, reacting to the draws, said the groups are tough, but assured that Nigeria will work hard to defend her title come November.
"We (Nigeria) have been drawn in a very strong group and we have to be well prepared to progress to the semi-finals and the final.
"Cameroon is a good side. They are ranked second in Africa and we have to remember that they stopped a very good Ghana side on their way to the finals in Equatorial Guinea."
According to Ikhana, "Ivory Coast is also a strong team and we will not underrate them. They defeated Mozambique by 12-0 on aggregate so we know they are a team that scores lots of goals.
" However, we have no fears. We respect all the teams in our group and we will put in the work and make sure we are adequately prepared to defend our title. I have no doubts that we will make it past the group stage."
The Falcons will open their campaign against The Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon on October 29, 2012 in Bata, and Ikhana believes that a good display against the Olympics-bound side will boost the confidence in the Nigerian camp.
"The first match is always the toughest one so I am pleased that we will face Cameroon in our opening fixture. If we can outplay them it will be to our advantage because it will boost the team's confidence ahead of the other matches.
Group B features host Equatorial Guinea who won the title on home soil in 2008 when they defeated the Super Falcons in the semi-finals. They will open their campaign against Olympics-bound BanyanaBanyana of South Africa on October 28, in Malabo.
