Nigeria’s U20 women’s national team, the Falconets, will set up camp in Bogotá, Colombia, starting this Sunday, as they enter the final phase of preparation for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
The tournament is set to kick off on the last day of August, with the Falconets aiming to surpass their previous best of two runner-up finishes.
Having secured their spot at the World Cup with decisive victories over Tanzania and Burundi, the Christopher Musa Danjuma-led squad has already completed a four-week training camp in Abuja.
During this period, the team played several friendly matches, winning all but one.
Coach Danjuma expressed his gratitude to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for facilitating the two-week camp in Colombia.
“I want to thank the NFF for arranging the two-week camping in Colombia. This will go a long way to help the team, as the players will acclimatize very well and get familiar with their surroundings before the championship begins,” Danjuma said, emphasizing the importance of the final preparation phase.
On Friday, the squad received a morale boost from Nigeria’s Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh, who encouraged the team to aim for the ultimate prize. “Your predecessors have done well reaching the final of the competition on two occasions and making the semi-finals once. It is now time for you to take our country further by winning the trophy,” Enoh charged, urging the Falconets to bring home Nigeria’s first title in the competition.
The Falconets are in a challenging group, set to face Korea Republic, Germany, and Venezuela in the group stages. Their campaign begins on September 1st against Korea Republic at Estadio Metropolitano de Techo in Bogotá, followed by a crucial match against Germany three days later. The group stage concludes with a fixture against Venezuela in Cali.
As the tournament expands to 24 teams for the first time, Nigeria will be joined by Morocco, Cameroon, and Ghana, representing Africa on the global stage.
