Former Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere has urged Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team to maintain maximum concentration and discipline ahead of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, warning that their impressive performances in African competitions will count for little without adequate preparation against the world’s best teams.
Olowookere, who previously guided the Flamingos to international success, believes the players must remain focused on their objectives despite the confidence gained from their recent triumph at the WAFU-B U-17 Girls Championship.
“The team’s ability to remain focused on what they want to achieve is very, very important. We have to set the priority right because we are competing against the rest of the world,” he said.
Nigeria enjoyed an impressive WAFU-B campaign, winning all five matches against Niger, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo to emerge champions.
However, Olowookere stressed that the standard of opposition at the World Cup would present a significantly greater challenge.
“It’s a different ball game entirely. Africa is different from the World Cup,” he explained.
The former coach advised the technical crew to carefully assess the team’s recent performances, identify weaknesses and make the necessary adjustments before the tournament begins.
“We need to look at the loopholes. We need to look at the games that we have played, see where we got it right and where it is not working well, to make corrections and then move ahead,” Olowookere stated.
Nigeria will compete in Group B alongside defending champions North Korea, Poland and Puerto Rico when the tournament begins in Morocco on October 17.
Olowookere emphasised that success would require collective responsibility, with both players and coaches maintaining the highest standards throughout the competition.
“The players must be ready, the technical team too must be ready. So it’s teamwork,” he said.
Despite his warning, Olowookere expressed confidence in the team’s ability to compete favourably if they reproduce their recent performances while addressing areas requiring improvement.
“I think nothing is stopping Nigeria, but they need to concentrate and work hard, knowing fully well that we are competing against the rest of the world,” he added.
For Olowookere, the Flamingos have shown their potential in Africa, but the World Cup will demand greater discipline, sharper preparation and unwavering focus if Nigeria hopes to make another significant impact on the global stage.
