By Monsurah Olatunji
The Nigeria U17 Women’s National Team, the Flamingos, will play the second leg of their 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup second-round qualification match against South Africa’s Bantwana on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Under the guidance of Coach Bankole Olowookere, the Flamingos will be aiming to secure their spot in the next round following a 3-1 victory in the first leg in South Africa.
The West Africans’ performance in the first leg was impressive, with Harmony Chidi scoring a brace after Shakirat Moshood opened the scoring.
South Africa will have a tough challenge ahead, especially after their dominant 21-2 aggregate win over Gabon in the first round.
However, Nigeria has a strong record at home, having never lost a World Cup qualifier at this level and having qualified for seven of the eight U-17 Women’s World Cup editions.
In contrast, South Africa has only participated in two World Cup editions in the tournament’s history.
The second leg will kick off at 4 PM Nigerian time at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State. Fans can watch the match live on NFF TV.
The winner on aggregate will advance to the final round of the qualification series, where they will face either Algeria or Botswana for a spot in the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
