The Flamingoes celebrate victory during the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Group D match between Nigeria and Mexico at Estadio Nacional on March 23, 2014 in San Jose, Costa Rica. (Photo FIFA/FIFA)
Abuja – Nigeria’s Flamingoes have all it takes to excel at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan this October if they stay focused, some Stakeholders said on Wednesday.
The Nigeria’s national under-17 women football team has been drawn in Group C of the competition alongside Brazil, England and Korea DPR.
The Chairman of Confluence Queens of Lokoja, Abdul Sule, said he believed the Flamingoes have all it takes to defeat their opponents at the stage group of the competition.
“We all saw what our girls did in their qualification games both home and away. They have a good set of players in the team.
“But they just have to put more efforts into their preparations, because these teams might be stronger than the teams they met in their qualifying games,’’ he said.
On his part, the Chairman of Osun Babes of Osogbo, Akin Adio, advised the team’s head coach to ensure they train more for the competition.
“Coach Bala Nikyu and his technical crew colleagues by now should reinforce all the departments of the team, because teams in the group seem to be strong.
“I will advise the team’s coaches to pick the best players they will need to perform better at the competition.
“Our girls should not rely on their previous performances. I will also advise our players to put more effort into their work.
“They should listen to all instructions from their coaches and be of good behaviour,’’ he said.
The Head Coach of Capital City Doves Football Club, Ngozi Eze, said the Flamingoes are the future Falcons of Nigeria and she believed in their abilities.
“I know virtually the entire team. I believe in their strength. These are girls who have the zeal for football, and we saw the determination in them in their games here in Abuja.
“I trust them and they will make us proud at the World Cup. But we need to encourage and pray for them. That is what they need from us,’’ she said.
Nigeria reached the quarter-finals in the last three editions of the competition, at Trinidad and Tobago 2010, Azerbaijan 2012 and Costa Rica 2014.
They qualified for this year’s finals after hammering Namibia and South Africa home and away.
The fifth FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals will hold from Sept. 30 to Oct. 21.
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