Nigeria’s U17 women’s team will play back-to-back friendlies this weekend at the Goal Project pitch in Abuja as new head coach Akeem Busari uses the final weeks before a crucial qualifier against Guinea to assess his 36-player training squad.
The Flamingos are preparing with purpose. Coach Akeem Busari has assembled 36 players at the Serob Legacy Hotel in Abuja for the first phase of the squad’s preparation ahead of their second-round 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier against Guinea. This weekend they will play Generation Next on Saturday and Nazareth Queens on Sunday at the Goal Project pitch, both matches kicking off at 4pm. The friendlies serve as a fitness and tactical assessment before the competitive matches begin in earnest, with the first leg against Guinea scheduled for between May 22 and 24 in Conakry, and the return leg in Nigeria on May 30.
Guinea are arriving as opponents with momentum behind them. They beat Niger 8-2 on aggregate in the preliminary round, a dominant display of attacking quality that underlines why the Flamingos cannot approach these qualifiers casually. Busari’s squad is still being shaped, the 36 players called up include five goalkeepers, ten defenders, 13 midfielders and eight forwards, and these weekend friendlies are as much about identifying his strongest combinations as building physical sharpness. Fans following Nigerian women’s football this year can track the Flamingos campaign alongside the Super Falcons’ WAFCON preparations, with the full summer schedule covered on Bet9ja using the YOHAIG promo code.
The stakes for this qualifier are clear. The winner on aggregate over the two legs advances to the third and final qualifying round. Teams that survive the third round earn their places at the 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, scheduled for October 17 to November 7. Nigeria have been to every edition of the tournament except 2018, and the bronze medal finish at the 2022 edition in India remains the programme’s highest achievement. Getting back to Morocco for 2026 is the priority, and the path starts against Guinea next month.
A New Coach With Immediate Pressure
Akeem Busari takes over the Flamingos from Bankole Olowookere, who guided the team to that 2022 bronze. Stepping into that job with a qualifying campaign already scheduled is a sharp test of any new coach’s ability to assess talent quickly and establish a functional team shape without the luxury of extended preparation. Busari was managing Pacesetters Queens in the Nigeria Women Football League before his appointment, so the transition from domestic club football to international youth football has been swift.
His selection of 36 players is deliberately broad, reflecting a coach who wants options rather than assumptions. The friendly matches against Generation Next and Nazareth Queens will give him two 90-minute windows to watch players in structured match situations and begin narrowing down towards a squad of 18 to 20 for the Guinea tie. The technical crew around him are also relatively new to this environment, making the information gathered this weekend particularly valuable before the first competitive minutes arrive in Conakry. Those who want to follow the full trajectory of Nigerian women’s football into the 2026 tournament season can find a quick guide to Bet9ja at Nigeria’s top Bet9ja promo code page.
Why This Matters Beyond Football
The Flamingos’ campaign sits within a broader moment of growth for Nigerian women’s football. The Super Falcons are preparing for WAFCON 2026 in Morocco in July and August. The NWFL recently opened registration for the 2026 Nationwide Division. The pipeline from grassroots to senior national team is more structured than it has ever been, even if the resources behind it remain inconsistent.
For the young players in Busari’s camp right now, a successful qualifier would mean playing at a FIFA World Cup, the kind of exposure that shapes careers. The 2022 bronze medallists included players who have since moved abroad and established themselves at youth level in Europe. A strong qualifying campaign against Guinea, and a place at the tournament in Morocco, could do the same for this generation. The weekend friendlies are a quiet beginning to a campaign with genuinely significant implications for the next wave of Nigerian women’s football talent. Fans following both the Flamingos and the Super Falcons into the summer season can use the Bet9ja free bet offer to get started before the qualifying campaign opens.
📌 Did You Know?
- Nigeria’s Flamingos finished third at the 2022 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India, their best ever result at the competition, defeating the United States in the quarter-finals via a penalty shootout in one of the most memorable results in Nigerian women’s football history.
- Guinea, the Flamingos’ upcoming qualifier opponents, beat Niger 8-2 on aggregate in the preliminary round of the 2026 qualifiers, an emphatic result that demonstrates their attacking strength heading into the second round.
- The 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Morocco from October 17 to November 7, making it the second major FIFA women’s tournament in Morocco in 2026, following WAFCON earlier in the year.
- Nigeria have qualified for every edition of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup except 2018, a record of consistent qualification that places them among Africa’s most reliable nations at this age group alongside countries like Ghana and Cameroon.
- Head coach Akeem Busari previously managed Pacesetters Queens in the Nigeria Women Football League before being appointed to lead the Flamingos, representing a significant step up in profile and responsibility for a domestic league coach.
- The Goal Project pitch in Abuja, where this weekend’s friendlies will be played, is one of Nigeria’s modern training facilities developed as part of a grassroots investment programme, providing a professional environment for national team preparations outside Lagos.
- The Super Falcons, Nigeria’s senior women’s team, are also preparing for WAFCON 2026 in Morocco scheduled for July and August, meaning the summer of 2026 represents the most concentrated period of women’s football activity in Nigeria’s history across multiple age groups simultaneously.
