BY MONICA IHEAKAM
FLAMINGOES head coach , Bala Nikyu has trimmed down the number of players in camp to 28, just as the girls intensified their training for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup billed for Jordan in September.
The team, which resumed camping on Sunday, started training on Monday with all the 30 invited players participating in the training session that lasted for two hours. The team had been training twice daily.
Nikyu reminded the players that they have to put extra effort if they are to make the team, saying that the training sessions would be more demanding than what obtained during the qualifying series. “The World Cup is a very serious tournament and only very serious teams excel.
“The traning sessions will be more rigorous. We want to compete favourably with other countries and make our mark. We want to go all the way to the final.”
Nigeria is in Group C of the championship alongside Brazil, England and 2008 champions, Korea DPR. The Flamingoes will kick off their campaign against Brazil at the King Abdullah II International Stadium, Amman on October 1.
Nigeria had participated in all four previous editions of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup since its inception in 2008, reaching the quarter–finals in the past three editions.