Flamingos stars Adegbuyi and Opara collect top awards at WAFU B U-17 Cup

Nigeria’s Flamingos players Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Onyinyechi Opara were named the Most Valuable Player and best goalkeeper respectively at the 2026 WAFU B U-17 Girls Cup in Cote d’Ivoire.

The awards followed Nigeria’s emphatic 4-0 victory over Togo in Sunday’s final, a result that confirmed the Flamingos as tournament champions.

Adegbuyi was recognised as the competition’s outstanding player, while Opara received the Golden Glove after impressive performances throughout Nigeria’s successful campaign.

Adegbuyi finished the tournament with four goals and a series of assists, playing a significant role as the Flamingos won all five of their matches.

The award adds to a successful period for the forward. She was previously named Player of the Tournament at the WAFU-B Women’s Champions League Qualifiers and also won the 2025/26 NWFL Premiership Player of the Season award.

Opara was equally influential in goal, recording four clean sheets in the five matches she played for Nigeria.

The Flamingos will now turn their attention to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Morocco from October 17th to November 7th.

Nigeria have been drawn in Group B alongside North Korea, Poland and Puerto Rico. Their campaign begins against Poland on October 17.

The Flamingos have appeared at every edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup except the 2018 tournament.

Before 2022, Nigeria’s best results had been quarter-final appearances in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

They moved beyond that stage at the 2022 edition, defeating USA on penalties in the quarter-finals after a closely contested match ended 1–1 during regulation time.

Nigeria then secured the bronze medal by beating Germany in the third-place match.