The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ‘Flamingoes

  • Flamingoes tackle Rivers Angels in Port Harcourt today

    After their 2-1 win over women’s league top flight side, Nasarawa Amazons, the Nigeria’s Women’s U17 side, Flamingoes have left for Port Harcourt for another friendly match with Rivers Angels today at the Liberation Stadium.

    Goals from Ike Ginika and Chinwendo Ihezuo lifted the Flamingoes ahead of the Amazons recently but despite the win, the head coach of the team, Nkiyu Bala has urged his lasses to keep calm and get focused ahead of the other friendly ties and the World Cup proper.

    He told SportingLife that he has been reminding his wards that they were yet to get to his own satisfaction based on the target he has given himself of winning the World Cup in Costa Rica just like the Golden Eaglets in the UAE.

    Bala opined that he was happy that his players raised the level of their game against the Amazons but that the girls still made some mistakes which he hopes to correct before they step out against Rivers Angels this afternoon.

    “We are happy at the way the girls are shaping up ahead of the World Cup in Costa Rica. We are not yet there so we have to continue to improve. That has always been my watchword to the players every time.

    “We should not get carried away by our performance of the previous matches.

    “We are on our way to Port Harcourt where we are going to face Rivers Angels tomorrow (today) in another friendly match. The game against Nasarawa Amazons was a good test for us and we have noticed areas that we need to correct before our next match.

    “We hope to visit Port Harcourt to continue with the rest of our preparation for the World Cup. We don’t have a complete team yet and we are going to battle on until we could assemble a team that could do the country proud,” Bala told SportingLife.

    On his part, the head coach of Rivers Angels, Edwin Okon has promised that his depleted side will prove too difficult to handle to their visitors.

    The 2013 Women’s Federation Cup champions have some players in the country’s U20 team-Falconets and a few in the U17 side also which has decimated the stronghold of the Port Harcourt side but Okon stated that the remaining players won’t disappoint.

    He shared the view that Flamingoes need to play several friendly matches before the World Cup in Costa Rica where they have been pooled against China, Mexico and Colombia in Group D.

    Okon added that the Flamingoes won’t lack a formidable opponent in Rivers Angels when the game starts this afternoon at the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia, Port Harcourt.

    This year’s U17 World Cup is in its fourth edition after it had been held in New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago and Azerbaijan and Nigeria’s Flamingoes and Ghana’s Black Maidens are the only African nations that have participated in every edition. The competition will be played from 15 March to 4 April 2014.

  • Falconets, Flamingoes play out a draw

    Falconets, Flamingoes play out a draw

    Flamingoes coach, Bala Nkiyu has expressed satisfaction with his side’s 1-1 draw against Falconets in Saturday’s friendly tie at the FIFA Goal Project pitch, Abuja.

    The nation’s U-17 women’s side got their noses in front in the 29th minute through striker Tessy Biawho while their older opponents, the Falconets levelled score through Chidinma Edeji in the 55th minute.

    The friendly encounter was put together by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to assist both sides prepare for their continental and global assignments.

    Nkiyu said his wards’ resolute performance in the encounter raised hope for a brilliant outing at the forthcoming FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica in March.

    “I’ve no reason to be disappointed by the outcome of the friendly though my players wanted to win the game with the no nonsense approach they brought into the game. I’m satisfied with their performance though the team is still a work in progress as we continue our preparations toward the World Cup.

    “We just resumed camp after the festive holidays, we only did conditioning before the friendly game and if what they showed in just a week in camp is anything to go by it then means they’ll get even better in the days to come.

    “We’ll continue to work on every department until we reach a point we’ll confidently say we’ve got the right squad for the World Cup. I strongly believe the friendly game met its purpose as we would love to have more quality friendly games in future,” said the former Super Falcons assistant coach to supersport.com.

    The Azerbaijan 2012 quarterfinalists will campaign in Group D with Mexico, People’s Republic of China and Colombia in the 2014 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. The biennial global football showpiece holds from March 15 to April 4.

  • Flamingoes, Falconets face-off in friendly today

    Flamingoes, Falconets face-off in friendly today

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has arranged a friendly match between the Nigeria U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingoes and their sister national U-20 women’s side, the Flaconets.

    The match scheduled to be played this afternoon, will be the country’s female cadet first test match since resuming camp earlier this year.

    The Coach Bala Nkiyu-led Flamingoes and the Coach Peter Dedevbo-led Falconets will use the match to prepare for the 2014 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Costa Rica and the African Women Championship qualifier against South Africa respectively.

    The former assistant coach said the friendly is crucial for the success of his wards as they prepare to confront any opponent at the global football event.

    “Our preparation is very important to succeed at the World Cup, we are happy with the friendly with the Falconets. It is coming at the right time as it will provide us a good test of our strength and readiness.

    “We have been training for the past few weeks and friendly matches like this will help us (technical crew) assess the players in view of moulding a strong team,” he added.

    The match for Flamingoes comes thirteen days after the U-17 side resumed camp earlier in the month and will be the first test match for them.

    The encounter will be played at the FIFA Goal Project centre of the Abuja National Stadium in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital.

    The kick off time for the match is 3pm Nigerian time.

  • … Drops two more players

    … Drops two more players

    Bala Nkiyu, the coach of the Nigeria U-17 women’s team, the Flamingoes, has dropped two more players as he continued to trim the side ahead of the January 31st deadline.

    He said that 34 players are left in camp after two were dropped Wednesday and more are expected to leave as he hopes to trim the team’s size to 30.

    The Flamingoes would play in Group D with China People’s Republic, Mexico and Colombia in the finals of the competition.

    The tournament will be played across four stadiums, three in San Jose and another in Liberia, between March 15 and April 4 2014.

    Nigeria qualified for the finals of the Under-17 competition effortlessly as they never kicked the ball following opponents, Sierra Leone’s surprise withdrawal for logistics reasons.

    The Nigerian girls will be determined to go beyond the quarter final stage in 2010, which is the furthest they have gone since the inception of the tournament.

  • Flamingoes must play quality matches before World Cup — NFF

    Flamingoes must play quality matches before World Cup — NFF

    • Says ties with Ghana’s Black Maidens not yet sealed

    In order to actually test the might of the Flamingoes, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed that the country’s U17 women’s national team will play lots of friendly matches with local clubs before they will jet out for a foreign tour ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

    The Flamingoes have China, Mexico and Colombia to contend with in a rather cagey Group D encounters in March this year.

    The country’s representatives barely kicked a ball before cruising to an Africa record fourth outing at the World tournament slated for Costa Rica between March 15th and April 4th. The Flamingoes share that record with Ghana that have also played at every edition of the U17 World Cup since 2008 in New Zealand.

    Nigeria qualified alongside South Africa for the second round because they were termed the top teams. In the second round, the Flamingoes were billed to play South Sudan before they pulled out ostensibly to dodge an heavy defeat from the Nigerians.

    It is in the light of this that a top official of the NFF, Barrister Christopher Green told SportingLife that the Glass House would subject the Flamingoes to series of friendly matches with Nigerian clubs to ascertain the quality of team before embarking on any foreign tour.

    Barrister Green also corrected the media hype that the NFF had already concluded a two-legged international friendly match for the Flamingoes with the Black Maidens of Ghana. The former Sharks of Port Harcourt Secretary said that the games are still being worked out and that they are not yet finalised.

    Barrister Green noted that the Flamingoes would have been passed fit to represent the country first based on their outings with local clubs before they could be allowed to play international matches.

    “The Flamingoes have not been tested by the NFF reckoning. We cannot assume that we have a team yet when they qualified for the World Cup without any competitive match. They will resume camp shortly and will be made to play a lot of friendly matches with local clubs before we can consider taking them out of the country for friendly matches.

    “The ties with Ghana are one of the possibilities. We have not concluded with that yet. We have also submitted proposals to some countries to enable them have training tour and the feedback we have been getting from these countries has been marvellous,” Green said.

    The Flamingoes exited the FIFA U17 World Cup at the quarter-final stage in Azerbaijan two years ago despite being the overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy. They lost on penalty shootout to eventual winners France in 2012. The squad then led by coach Peter Devdevbo had earlier beaten Azerbaijan 13-0 in one of the group matches before the surprise loss to France.

  • Maidens to play Flamingoes in friendly

    Ghana’s U-17 girls team are scheduled to play Nigeria in a two-legged international friendly before the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica.

    The Black Maidens will start preparations for the tournament next year. Ghana have been drawn in a tough group alongside North Korea, Germany and Canada.

    Nigeria’s Flamingoes drew China, Mexico and Colombia in Group D. Ghana won bronze at the 2012 tournament in Azerbaijan.

    The 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be played between March 15 and April 4.

  • Habeebat Akinwande declares war on Flamingoes World Cup foes

    Habeebat Akinwande declares war on Flamingoes World Cup foes

    Costa Rica 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup has been viewed as the best chance for the Nigerian team otherwise known as Flamingoes to create history by becoming the first African team to lift the Cadet shield.

    The official draw took place on December 17th, at the Antigua Aduana in San Jose, Costa Rica.

    The girls were drawn in a group comprising of Colombia, Mexico and China, a pool that analysts view as tricky for the two-time quarter finalists.

    FC Robo skipper Habeebat Kehinde Akinwande has declared war on the three group D rivals of the U-17 team.

    The centre back remains relaxed despite the girls being drawn with some tough customers, claiming the challenge of will spur the team to victory.

    The 15-year-old starlet hinged her confidence in the pool of players available to the technical crew headed by Bala Nkiyu.

    “My message to the players and the nation is we’re not going to Costa Rica to fear anyone. We will respect and have enormous admiration for everyone.

    “But the word fear is the wrong one. We know what we are capable of doing,” she told a facebook platform, Naija Female Soccer.

    “We have played Colombia, and we can count on the experience of our U-20 sisters who have played Mexico in the past.

    “As for China, our physical play will count in our favour. We know there are tough games in the pool, but we can go out and do well in them. Therefore, I declare war on our enemies.”

  • U-17 World Cup: Agumanu-Chiejine happy with Flamingoes’ foes

    U-17 World Cup: Agumanu-Chiejine happy with Flamingoes’ foes

    Nigeria’s Flamingoes assistant coach, Ann Agumanu-Chiejine, has described as comfortable her side’s Group D opponents at the 2014 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.

    The draw for the biennial global football fiesta on Tuesday in Pueblo Antiguo pitched Nigeria with Mexico, China and Colombia.

    Quarterfinalists in the immediate past edition in Azerbaijan, the Flamingoes will kick off their title chase against Colombia on March 16 at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela.

    Nigeria played in same group with Colombia at the last World Cup in Azerbaijan with the West Africans recording a comfortable 3-0 win over the South Americans, supersport.com reports.

    Agumanu-Chiejine said early and adequate preparations are crucial to success as her wards are ready to confront any opponents at the global football event.

    “There is no problem with the group opponents, I think the paring is fair and something we can comfortably handle.

    “I know all the teams are good to have qualified for the final, of course, we know that no team will be a push-over.

    “Early preparations are very important to success at the World Cup, I think we’re ready for any opponent no matter the side pedigree.

    “We hope to resume camp early January to commence immediate preparations for the World Cup, “she told supersport.com.

     

  • NFF suspends Flamingoes keeper

    NFF suspends Flamingoes keeper

    •For punching referee
    •In a league match

     

    THE FOOTBALL hammer descended on U-17 Women’s National Team goalkeeper, Chichi Sandra yesterday for allegedly assaulting a match referee. Towards this end, the organizing and disciplinary committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) suspended the player for six months.

    Sandra committed the offence while on duty for Ibom Angels in a week 10 Nigeria Women Premier League encounter (NWPL) against Sunshine Queens in Akure played on May 25.

    Not only was Sandra suspended, her club was also slammed with a fine of N50, 000 being the cost of injuries sustained by referee Alajiki Joel. Opefoluwa from Osun State.

    “We have received the match officials’ report in respect of the above match stating that your player Chichi Sandra assaulted the Centre Referee.

    “Consequently, by the copy of this letter, the affected player Chichi Sandra is hereby suspended from all NFF organised competitions for six months. A fine of N50, 000.00 only has also been imposed on Ibom Angels FC as cost of injuries meted on the match official,” the release issued by Women’s board league secretary, Isaac Ajisafe read.

    Chichi becomes the first player this season to be reprimanded.

    Sandra, who was the second choice keeper for Nigeria at last year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan, allegedly punched Alajiki with her gloves, leaving him bleeding. She was held back by other officials who were all surprised at her action.

    Reacting to the keeper’s improper conduct in a telephone chat, Sunshine Queens’ Chief Coach, Wemimo Matthew-Olanrewaju said it was uncalled for. “She is a very good keeper with a bright future who should have restrained herself. I never knew that she was even at the last World Cup which should have made her conduct herself in a decent manner,” she told SportingLife.

    Those who witnessed the incident had expected Sandra to apologise, but according to Matthew-Olanrewaju, she never did. “She did not apologise at all. I was even the person that held her and l also spoke to her,” said the former U-

  • Flamingoes apologise to NFF, Nigerians

    Flamingoes apologise to NFF, Nigerians

    •Team decamped

    COACH of the national U-17 side, Flamingoes, Peter Dedevbo has apologized to his employers, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and by extension, Nigerian soccer fans over his team’s inability to go past the quarterfinal stage of the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

    The team, which had showed so much prospect coming into the competition after dominating the group stages, succumbed to defeat in the hands of France via penalties and Coach Dedevbo has said he and his girls are truly sorry for the ouster because of the immense support and goodwill they enjoyed both from the federation and the country.

    “We are really deeply saddened that we could not go past the quarterfinal stage of the competition and are sorry because we enjoyed tremendous support from the Nigerian Football Federation and soccer-loving Nigerians before and during this competition.

    “We did not plan to come back now because we thought we were going to make it to at least the finals. This is the saddest thing and we apologise for disappointing Nigerians who have had so much faith in us.

    “We didn’t take our chances and I cannot explain why. These are the same girls who had been scoring goals but when it matters most, they couldn’t find the back of the net. We really regret it and are still living with the shock” he said.

    The team, which arrived Lagos aboard a Turkish airline on Friday night have since been decamped.