Nigeria’s Flamingoes off to Nairobi

The Under 17 Women National Team delegation flew out of Lagos to Nairobi on Thursday night ahead of Saturday’s FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup qualifying match against their Kenyan counterparts.

They departed aboard Kenyan Airways, and were led by Alhaja Ayo Omidiran, deputy
chairman of the House of Reps’ Committee on Sports and Social Development, a member of the FIFA Women’s Football Committee and a former board member of the Nigeria Football Federation.

The Kenyan girls saw off the challenge of the Mozambique U-17 Women’s team to be eligible to play the African champions, and have posted impressive results in build-up games ahead of this encounter.

But the Flamingoes have not been lacking in firepower and confidence either, after they lashed Women Professional League side, Nasarawa Amazons 2-1 and then victimized another Women Professional League club, Confluence Queens of Makurdi 8-0 in Abuja.

“We know the enormity of the task ahead of us, which is to qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. But we’ll take it one match at a time. We will approach the match in Nairobi as if there wouldn’t be a second leg. Our determination is to win right there in Kenya”, said Flamingoes’ Head Coach, Peter Dedevbo.

Dedevbo led the Nigeria U-17 girls to the quarter finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in Trinidad and Tobago in September 2011 and has told his girls there is no way they can fail to reach this year’s finals in Azerbaijan.

“As a country, we have a record of playing in every edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. It is not going to be this year that we would fail”, he assured.

Dedevbo and his assistants organized a screening programme for new players in December and then invited 31 successful ones back to camp at the beginning of January.

NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari told the girls just before departure that the nation expects nothing less than outright victory from the Flamingoes on Saturday.

“The nation, right from Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) to the ordinary ball fan on the street, expect you girls to win and win very well in Nairobi, in order to make the second leg here at home a formality.

“We have confidence in you that you will not disappoint”, said Maigari.