Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingos, are scheduled to depart for Bamako, the capital of Mali, on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup African qualification series third-round first-leg match against Burkina Faso.
Having participated in only one edition of the competition (Uruguay 2018) since its inception in New Zealand in 2008, the Nigerian team aims for a convincing victory in the Malian capital to make the return leg in Abuja on May 18th a mere formality.
Despite a 9-1 victory in a preparatory game against their opponents, Head Coach Bankole Olowookere stressed the importance of his players understanding the difference between training sessions and match situations. He emphasised the need for the team to capitalise on all scoring opportunities during games.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has made a change to the fourth official for Saturday’s match at the Stade 26 March in Bamako. Originally, Joselyn Nsabimana was slated to be the fourth official, but CAF has appointed Teneba Bagayoko from Mali to fill this role. Oumou Souleyman Kane from Mauritania remains the commissioner, and Aya Irene Ahoua from Cote d’Ivoire will serve as the referee assessor.