WAFU B U17 tourney: Eaglets face Black Starlets for bronze today

Perennial rivals, Nigeria and Ghana will today battle it out for the bronze medals of the ongoing WAFU B U17 Championship in Accra, Ghana.

Both nations, known for their prowess at this level, were expected to compete for the trophy in the final match. However, the Eaglets fell to Cote d’Ivoire’s Baby Elephants, and the Starlets were defeated by Burkina Faso’s Baby Etalons in the semi-finals.

The West African Football Union has not clarified the number of teams advancing to the 2025 Africa U17 Cup of Nations from WAFU B. Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, has urged the Eaglets to approach the third-place match as if it were a final and give it their all.

“We are still awaiting clarity on the number of teams that will qualify to the U17 AFCON from this tournament. Some people have said only three teams; some said four teams. It is therefore important that our boys go out there and play their hearts out to finish in third place.

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“The Black Starlets will not be an easy ride. They are the home side and they will bank on the support of the fans. But our boys have what it takes to achieve victory.”

The third-place match will kick off at 3pm Ghana time (4pm Nigeria time) at the University of Accra Stadium, ahead of the final match between Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire, which commences at 6pm Ghana time (7pm Nigeria time). 

Meanwhile, Liberia’s U17 girls will host World Cup bronze medallists, Flamingos of Nigeria at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium, Monrovia on Sunday, 9th June in the first leg of the teams’ FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup African qualification series final fixture.

The match in the Liberian capital will kick off at 4pm Liberia time (5pm in Nigeria).

Bankole Olowookere’s maidens have made their way into the fourth and final qualifying round following a 12-0 second round annihilation of their counterparts from Central African Republic, after which they dispatched Burkina Faso’s U17 girls 7-1 on aggregate.

The Liberian girls were the big surprise of the third round, edging out Senegal on the away goal rule after a 2-0 win in Monrovia in the second leg of a tie that the Senegalese thought they had wrapped up after a 3-1 win in Dakar.

The Flamingos will host the return at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Friday, 14th June starting from 4pm. The winner on aggregate will emerge as one of Africa’s three representatives at this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals in the Dominican Republic.