Five Racing Players to Play for National Teams in February Tournaments

February 16, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Racing Louisville FC News Release

Five Racing Louisville players will suit up for their home country for upcoming tournaments, including two who will represent their nations at the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup.

Elexa Bahr (Colombia), Ary Borges (Brazil), Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria), Linda Motlhalo (South Africa) and Elli Pikkujämsä (Finland) have all been called into their national team camps. A sixth Racing player, midfielder Savannah DeMelo, left Louisville’s preseason camp to participate as a practice player for the U.S. Women’s National Team from Feb. 12-20.

Bahr and Borges will play in the W Gold Cup, which is set to kick off Tuesday and run through the March 10 final at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. Their teams are both in Group B alongside Panama and either Haiti or Puerto Rico, with Bahr and Borges set to square off on Feb. 24 in what should be the biggest match of the group’s slate.

Kanu and Motlhalo are working to qualify their countries for the 2024 Summer Olympics through the Confederation of African Football’s Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Kanu’s Nigeria plays a home-and-home series against Cameroon, while Motlhalo’s South Africa will take on Tanzania. The four winners of the third-round ties will play each other in April for the two African qualification spots in the Olympics.

Pikkujämsä and Finland play an exhibition on Wednesday against the Philippines before participating in the 2024 Pinatar Cup in Spain. The tournament starts with Finland vs. Slovenia and Scotland vs. the Philippines in the Saturday semifinals, with the final and third-place game set for Feb. 27.

International duty for the five players means they will miss Racing’s trip to Colombia, where Louisville will play in the inaugural version of The Women’s Cup Colombia alongside NJ/NY Gotham FC and Colombian clubs América de Cali and Deportivo Cali.

Upcoming national team games

Feb. 21

Brazil (Borges) vs. Haiti/Puerto Rico

Colombia (Bahr) vs. Panama

Finland (Pikkujämsä) vs. the Philippines

Feb. 23

Nigeria (Kanu) vs. Cameroon

South Africa (Motlhalo) vs. Tanzania

Feb. 24

Brazil (Borges) vs. Colombia (Bahr)

Finland (Pikkujämsä) vs. Slovenia

Feb. 26

Nigeria (Kanu) vs, Cameroon

Feb. 27

Brazil (Borges) vs. Panama

Colombia (Bahr) vs. Haiti/Puerto Rico

South Africa (Motlhalo) vs. Tanzania

Finland (Pikkujämsä) vs. the Philippines/Scotland

Concacaf W Gold Cup knockout stage: Quarterfinals (March 2-3); semifinals (March 6);…