Team action continues at the African Junior Championships in Lome on Sunday, with Nigeria facing Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
The U14 girls, who have lost their previous two ties, face Cote d’Ivoire and would have to win to have any chance of securing qualification. The team, led by Salamatu Haruna, Serena Teluwo and Esther Oni, have played two out of five matches in the category already.
The U14 and 16 boys will face Ghana and Sierra Leone, respectively, in their last group qualifying ties today. However, both of them have already secured passage to the semi-finals, following victories in their two previous ties.
The U16 girls will look to keep up the momentum when they face Ghana. With comfortable 3-0 victories in each of their last two ties—against Benin and Togo—the girls are on track in their bid to secure qualification. Victory against the Ghanaians today will further increase their chances of qualifying as they have Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon to contend with next.
Coach Abel Ubiebi, who’s leading the team alongside Coach Wunmi Ogunsakin, says the players have set their sights on securing qualification.
“The players are really fighting hard,” Coach Ubiebi said. “They want to really make a statement and see that they qualify. The team work is strong.”
Only one team per age group and per gender will qualify for the African Junior Championship Finals slated for March 2020 in South Africa.
