Poised to be a thrilling event, the third round of qualifiers for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup which is set to take place in the Dominican Republic in 2024, will see twelve nations vying for three spots to represent Africa in the global youth women’s football competition.

Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingos, are scheduled to depart the country, today, May 9 for Bamako, Mali, ahead of their FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup African qualifying series third round, first leg match against Burkina Faso on Saturday, May 11, 2024.

Fresh from their impressive third-place finish at the previous edition in India, Nigeria would be eager to continue their strong performance on the global stage.

The Nigerian girls would be looking to win comfortably in a West African affair at the Malian capital to make the return leg in Abuja on 18th May a formality. With a strong record in the competition, having only missed one edition (Uruguay 2018) since its inception in New Zealand in 2008, the Nigerian girls are determined to succeed.

Despite a 9-1 win in a preparatory game, Head Coach Bankole Olowookere emphasized the importance of his girls understanding the difference between training sessions and match situations. He also hammered on the need to convert opportunities into goals in match situations.

The two-legged qualifiers kick off on May 10, with the following fixtures:

• Ethiopia vs. Kenya
• Morocco vs. Algeria (May 10)
• Burkina Faso vs. Nigeria
• Senegal vs. Liberia (May 11)
• Djibouti vs. Burundi
• Zambia vs. Uganda (May 12)

Meanwhile, The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has made a change to the officiating crew for Saturday’s match at the Stade on March 26 in Bamako. Teneba Bagayoko from Mali has been appointed as the fourth official, replacing Joselyn Nsabimana.

The referee, assistant one, and Assistant two will be Suavis Iratunga, Fides Bangurambona, and Alida Iradukunda from Burundi, respectively. Oumou Souleyman Kane from Mauritania and Aya Irene Ahoua from Cote d’Ivoire will still serve as commissioner and referee assessor, respectively.

The 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is scheduled to take place from October 16 to November 3, 2024, in the Dominican Republic. The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is a biennial international women’s youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA.