Akeem Ishola Busari takes the reins from long-serving Bankole Olowookere, with Nigeria’s first qualifying assignment for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup arriving next month.
The Nigeria Football Federation has named Akeem Ishola Busari as the new head coach of the Flamingos, Nigeria’s Under-17 Women’s national team. The appointment comes as the Flamingos prepare for a critical second-round qualifying fixture in the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign, with the competition itself scheduled to be hosted by Morocco later this year.
Busari, who currently manages Pacesetters Queens of Ibadan in the Nigeria Women Football League, steps into a role that carries significant weight at this particular moment in the qualifying calendar. Nigeria will face either Niger or Guinea next month, and getting the team settled quickly under new leadership is not a luxury the federation can afford to take for granted.
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The End of the Olowookere Era
Busari’s appointment means the end of Bankole Olowookere’s long tenure with the Flamingos. Olowookere’s defining achievement came at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India, where Nigeria finished third, an impressive result that showed just how far the programme had developed under his watch.
That bronze medal finish placed Nigeria among the best three Under-17 women’s teams on the planet at that tournament, and it gave the Flamingos credibility on the global stage. Replacing a coach with that kind of legacy is never straightforward. Busari knows what the job demands and what the standard has been set at.
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Morocco 2026 and What’s at Stake
The 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco represents a significant opportunity for Nigerian women’s football. The African continent hosting the tournament adds extra motivation for the region’s teams, and Nigeria will expect to be competitive at the finals if they can navigate qualifying successfully.
The path starts with Niger or Guinea next month. Neither side is to be taken lightly at this level, and Busari will need to quickly assess his squad, understand what worked under Olowookere, and build on it. The turnaround time is tight. Anyone still unsure about the bonus structure heading into this exciting qualifying window can get all the details from this guide on how to get the Bet9ja promotion code before Nigeria’s matches.
Nigerian women’s football has grown steadily over the past decade, and the Flamingos have consistently been among the continent’s most competitive sides at Under-17 level. The NFF clearly believes Busari has the qualities to keep that standard intact, even as a new chapter begins.
Busari’s NWFL Background as a Foundation
Working in the Nigeria Women Football League is not a glamorous posting by any measure, but it is exactly where coaches develop a genuine understanding of the domestic talent pool. Busari’s time at Pacesetters Queens has put him close to the players who feed into the national youth setup, and that knowledge will be invaluable as he selects his squad for the qualifying campaign.
The NFF will be hoping the appointment brings immediate clarity and focus to the Flamingos ahead of what is a short but decisive window. The job is the job, as they say. Busari has it now, and the countdown to the Niger or Guinea fixture has already begun.
📌 Did You Know?
- Nigeria’s Flamingos finished third at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India, defeating Colombia in the third-place play-off. It was one of Nigeria’s best-ever results in women’s youth football at a global tournament.
- The 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco will be the first edition of the tournament hosted on African soil, adding historic significance to Nigeria’s qualifying bid.
- Pacesetters Queens of Ibadan, Busari’s club before this appointment, are based in Oyo State and compete in Nigeria’s top tier of women’s club football, the NWFL Premiership.
- The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup has been held since 2008, and Nigeria has a proud record of qualification and continental success at that age group across multiple editions of the tournament.
- Bankole Olowookere, the outgoing Flamingos coach, had been associated with the team for several years and had developed a reputation for building technically organised squads capable of competing at global level.
- Nigeria women’s football has produced several players who graduated from the Flamingos setup to go on and represent the Super Falcons at senior level, making the U-17 programme one of the most important pipelines in the entire national women’s football structure.
- The CAF qualifying process for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup involves multiple rounds, with the top African finishers at the CAF U-17 Women’s AFCON securing spots at the global finals.
