U17 Women’s World Cup: Flamingos to Learn Group Stage Opponents on Wednesday

Nigeria’s U17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, will find out their group stage opponents for the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup on Wednesday, 4 June, when the official draw takes place in Rabat, Morocco.

This year marks a special moment for the tournament, as it expands to include 24 teams for the first time since it began in 2008.

The Flamingos are among the top seeds in Pot 1 for the draw. They will be placed alongside strong teams such as Spain, Japan, North Korea (the current champions), the United States, and host nation Morocco.

Nigeria qualified for the tournament after beating Algeria 4-0 on aggregate in the final round of qualifiers. Their solid performance included a goalless draw away in Algeria. This result means the Flamingos are now unbeaten in 25 qualifying matches. Their only loss came 17 years ago in a 1-0 defeat to Ghana in Accra.

This will be Nigeria’s eighth appearance in the competition. They have only missed one edition — the 2018 tournament in Uruguay. Along with Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Morocco will also represent Africa.

Under the leadership of coach Bankole Olowookere, the Flamingos will aim to improve on their third-place finish in 2022 in India, which remains their best result so far.

The 2025 U17 Women’s World Cup is set to begin on 17 October. The 24 qualified teams have been divided into four pots for the group stage draw.

Final Draw Pots:

• Pot 1: Morocco, Spain, Japan, North Korea, USA, Nigeria

• Pot 2: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand, Ecuador

• Pot 3: China, Cameroon, South Korea, Italy, France, Zambia

• Pot 4: Paraguay, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Norway, Côte d’Ivoire, Samoa

All eyes will be on the draw as the Flamingos prepare to take on the world once again.