Ashleigh Plumptre, a Super Falcons defender, has raised new concerns about the growing problem of social media impersonation after scammers hijacked her name to promote bogus allegations about her claimed rejection from Nigeria’s squad for the 2017 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The defender, who plays club football in Saudi Arabia, denied the rumors on Tuesday, calling the accounts behind the claims bogus and warning fans not to engage with them.
“Awful fake accounts. I invited people to report on my Instagram and X. They are using my identity to defraud people.
Plumptre said in an official statement on Tuesday that he is currently contacting someone in Saudi Arabia to assist him in taking these accounts down, as this has been going on for well over a year.
The fake allegations posted on Facebook stated that the Super Falcons player was disgruntled after being ‘omitted’ from Nigeria’s squad for the 2026 WAFCON, which will be held in Morocco from July 25 to August 16.
However, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) denounced the rumors as completely incorrect, pointing out that the coaching staff has yet to submit an official squad list.
Ruth David, NFF Director of Competitions, stated that the defender has repeatedly told the public that she does not have a Facebook account.
“This is completely false. Last year, Ashleigh Plumptre posted a video in which she stated unequivocally that she is not on Facebook, that some people are impersonating her, and that she has attempted multiple times to remove the profile without success. Nothing has changed regarding her absence from Facebook; the player is not on Facebook, and no one should believe anything coming from the cloned account,” Ms David stated.
She stated that the misinformation went beyond Plumptre.
“The other difficulty is that the coach did not submit a list of players for the Women’s AFCON, therefore the scammer got everything wrong. The same scammer was at work a few weeks ago, claiming that Esther Okoronkwo made the same assertions, despite the fact that the player was not invited to the Senegal friendly matches due to an injury.
“We recall that some time ago, there was a report that Asisat Oshoala said she had retired from international football, which was patently false.”
The same scammer was at work a few weeks ago, claiming that Esther Okoronkwo made the same assertions, despite the fact that the player was not invited to the Senegal friendly matches due to an injury.
The federation urged journalists, media outlets, and members of the public to verify material before spreading it.
“We encourage well-meaning people to double-check any news item they see before spreading it to other places. The prevalence of false news has skyrocketed, and it is critical that media owners and journalists consistently verify what they publish for the sake of their own integrity and reputation,” Ms David said.
The controversy comes as Morocco prepares to host the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria, the competition’s most successful team with ten trophies, will be looking to defend its continental crown in Morocco in a few weeks time.
Since her debut in 2022, Plumptre has established herself as a significant member of the Super Falcons squad.
She was instrumental in Nigeria’s success at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, as they advanced to the Round of 16 and received significant accolades for their achievements.
With the WAFCON competition coming, the NFF has asked fans to rely solely on official channels for updates on player invitations and team activity.
