Flamingos coach Bankole Olowookere is confident that the team won’t disappoint Nigerians at the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Nigeria will take on Canada, France, and Samoa in Group D of the competition, which is billed to start from October 17 to November 8.
The Flamingos have qualified for every edition of the competition since inception, and Olowookere has backed the team to fight for the trophy.
He said: “This is a tournament, a competition. We need to compete with others, whether they are weak or strong. That’s the only path to becoming a champion, an eventual winner. Nobody hands you a trophy without a fight.
Nigeria crashed out of the last edition of the competition in the quarter-finals against the United States of America.
Olowookere said the team will learn valuable lessons from their poor showing in the Dominican Republic.
He said: “The journey started right after the last World Cup. We took the lessons learned, tactical discipline, mental strength, and the importance of game management, and we’ve been working with those insights.
“Now, having played and qualified for this World Cup, which is essentially the second leg of the race, we are ready for the third and most crucial phase: the tournament itself.”
The Flamingos qualified for the U-17 Women’s World Cup by defeating Algeria 4-0 on aggregate in the final round of African qualifiers.
Nigeria’s best-ever performance in the U-17 Women’s World Cup was a third-placed finish in the 2022 edition in India.
North Korea are the defending champions, having lifted their record third title in 2024.
It will be the first time the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is to be held in Africa and the second Arab country to host it after Jordan in 2016.
It will be the first edition to feature 24 teams and be played annually. It is also the first of five consecutive FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cups to be held in Morocco.
