By Eniwoke Ibagere BBC Sport Online, Lagos

Nigeria's female football team has started preparation for the defence of their African Nations Cup title in December.

Of the 53 players invited to camp, 47 were involved in the squad's first training session at the National Stadium in Lagos.

Nigeria hosted and won the maiden tournament in 1998 and retained the title when South Africa staged the championship in 2000.

"We called a large squad to assess everyone and pick the best players," team coach Sam Okpodu told reporters.

He said only players with domestic clubs were in camp, as the foreign-based players will not be involved in "this first phase" of preparation.

"We will expect the foreign-based players in the second phase of camping.

"By then, we would have got the players to team up with the experienced ones abroad," Okpodu added.

Members of the Under-19 side have also been invited to train with the senior team.

Nigeria remains unbeaten in African women's football and have played in every World Cup tournament since its inception in 1991.

At the 1999 World Cup in the United States, the Falcons lost 3-4 to Brazil in the quarter-final.