Five Wins, 17 Goals: Ikpeme Backs Flamingos For World Cup Glory
Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, has praised the Flamingos for their impressive run at the WAFU-B U17 Girls Cup in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, and backed the team to make a strong impact at next month’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The Flamingos completed a perfect campaign on Sunday, defeating Togo 4-0 to win the tournament after recording five victories from five matches.
Captain Harmony Chidi scored twice from the penalty spot in the first half before Oluebube Umejiaku and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi added further goals in the 67th and 90th minutes respectively.
Coach Akeem Busari’s side scored 17 goals and conceded only two throughout the tournament.
Nigeria opened their campaign with a 5-0 victory over Niger Republic before defeating rivals Ghana 4-2. They then overcame Burkina Faso 2-0 and hosts Côte d’Ivoire 2-0 before completing the campaign with the emphatic victory over Togo.
Ikpeme said the Flamingos had made the nation proud and expressed confidence that the team could carry their impressive form into the World Cup.
‘The Flamingos have done very well, made the nation proud and I have this faith in the players that they are not done yet,’ Ikpeme said.
‘I have confidence in the team to go to Morocco and achieve great things at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup that is starting next month.
‘It is no mean feat to win five matches out of five in a tournament. That is a distinction.’
The NFF official also described the WAFU-B tournament as valuable preparation for the global competition and praised the regional football body for organising the event.
‘The NFF is appreciative of the WAFU-B headquarters for organising the tournament as a premium preparatory event for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, and I believe the Flamingos have benefitted immensely ahead of the global competition,’ he added.
The Flamingos, bronze medalists at the 2022 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, will return to Nigeria on Tuesday before turning their attention to their preparations for the tournament in Morocco.
