President of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Ibrahim Musa Gusau has expressed optimism that Nigeria’s under-17 women’s team, the Flamingos, are motivated to beat their United States of America counterparts when they clash in the quarter-final of the ongoing FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in India.
The newly elected president stated that the girls will give it their best shot and get the result that will fetch them a semi-final ticket, adding that the spirit is high in their camp in Goa, and all things being equal, can go all the way to win the trophy.
“They [the Flamingos] are very well motivated and working very hard to do the country proud by winning the cup. We are mobilizing Nigerians in India with the help of the Nigerian Embassy to ensure that the girls feel at home. The target of the girls is to be the first African team to win the women’s World Cup.
“I have been speaking with the coach and officials of the team and I have charged them not to be wasteful with the scoring chances they create like during their group games. Now they have promised to take their chances and beat the USA to advance, ” Gusau stated.
On the ouster of Nigerian clubs from the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, the NFF boss expressed disappointment at the way all four clubs exited the continent, stressing that the NFF met with the 20 clubs in the NPFL and are working to put a stop to Nigerian clubs’ poor showing in Africa.
“The NFF under my watch will give priority attention to our leagues and ensure that our clubs have improved performance in continental competitions. We have to try and win in Africa again. It’s been a very long time since we won the Champions League and it is about time we start winning again, ” Gusau said.