The2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will take place in Jordan on Sept. 30th to Oct. 21st and will kick off as the country’s first major international tournament.
The women’s youth football championship will be FIFA’s 5th event comprising of U-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. Among 16 teams from around the world, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria will represent Africa.
Nigeria and Ghana have legacy status as they have qualified for every edition of the tournament since its inception in 2008.
The Nigeria U-17 Women’s team will look to improve on their past performances by looking to break past the quarter-finals stage. The “Flamingoes” will rely on their experience and peak form to lead the way. In the qualifying stage, they registered four wins with 16 goals and conceded none. Nigeria is placed in group C and will face Brazil, England and Korea DPR in what could be a group of death.
Ghana on the other hand are the only African country to reach the semifinals in the 2012 U-17 tournament, after beating Japan before losing out to France in the last-four stage.
2012 was also the team’s breakthrough year, they eventually emerged as third place winners over Germany. The Black Maidens go into the tournament as favorites with hope of advancing to the final. Ghana will play USA, Paraguay and Japan in group D.
Meanwhile, Cameroon is this year’s rookie team. Cameroon’s past World Cup bids fell short after failing to qualify in 2008 and 2012. Their successful campaign to the 2016 World Cup has earned “Les Bébés Lionnes” high praise. They hope to make a strong showing on their debut the way their senior team did at the country’s first FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada last year. Cameroon are placed in group B with Venezuela, Germany and Canada.
Featured Photo: Soline Djoubi no.8, captain of Cameroon Women’ U-17 team (FECAFOOT)
