Flamingos
The West African Football Union Zone B (WAFU-B) has selected 14 referees from its Young Talents refereeing course to officiate at the second edition of the WAFU-B U17 Girls’ Tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.
Two referees from each of the seven countries in the zone were selected for the tournament, which will take place in Yamoussoukro from September 15 to 28.
The initiative is designed to motivate and provide practical exposure for young referees who participated in the Young Talents course at the Ghanaian Centre of Excellence in Prampram from March 21 to 25, 2026. The selection gives the young officials an opportunity to apply the lessons learnt during the development programme in a competitive international tournament.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s U17 women’s team, the Flamingos, have arrived in Abidjan ahead of their onward journey to Yamoussoukro for the competition.
The Nigerian delegation departed Abuja on Monday morning, with head coach Hakeem Busari naming a 20-player squad for the tournament.
The competition will serve as important preparation for Nigeria and Ghana ahead of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, where the two West African nations will represent Africa alongside Kenya and Zambia.
Nigeria have been drawn in Group B of the World Cup alongside North Korea, Puerto Rico and Poland, while Ghana are in Group C with Canada, Brazil and Norway.
The World Cup will be staged in Morocco from October 17 to November 8.
The Flamingos were initially scheduled to face Ghana’s Princesses in their opening match of the WAFU-B tournament, but the withdrawal of Benin Republic’s U17 team has resulted in a change to the fixture. Nigeria will now face Niger Republic on Wednesday in their opening game.
Hosts Côte d’Ivoire will take on Togo on Tuesday, while Ghana will face Burkina Faso in the other fixture. On Friday, Togo will meet Niger Republic, while Burkina Faso will take on Côte d’Ivoire.
The much-anticipated encounter between Nigeria and Ghana will now take place on Saturday, with the Flamingos using the tournament to fine-tune preparations for their World Cup campaign.
