U-17 World Cup glory: Stakeholders warn NFF against wasting Flamingos’ golden generation

Nigeria’s Flamingos are world champions. Their 2-1 victory over Japan at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat over the weekend delivered the country’s first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title and made them the first African team, male or female, to win a FIFA world title at any level. But the more pressing question is not how they scaled the summit but whether Nigeria will build a road that keeps them from sliding back down. Their conquest of the world was not a triumph of seamless inevitability. Rather, it was a triumph of response. Nigeria lost their opening match 2-1 to Poland, a result that immediately raised doubts about their readiness. What followed was a six-match winning run ...