HEAD Coach of the U-17 National Women's Team, nicknamed Flamingoes, began the screening of players for the new national cadet team with a warning to the invited players to show total commitment and fervour if they desired to be in the team.The on-going screening in Abuja will see Dedevbo select players to form the third set of the U-17 Women's team, after the class of 2008 and 2010. A total of 57 players were initially invited, but 25 were on their way out of camp at the weekend, with 10 new players due to hit camp tomorrow.The Nigeria U-17 team is billed to take on the winner of the fixture between Mozambique and Kenya next month in the African qualifiers for next year's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup finals taking place in Azerbaijan.Nigeria participated in the first two editions of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, at the inaugural in New Zealand in 2010, and the second edition in Trinidad and Tobago in September 2010, where the team reached the quarter finals before losing to eventual champions, South Korea, after extra time.'We are here for serious business, and anyone who is not committed to the national cause will not go far. I have told the girls that only those who show patriotic fervour and are ready to learn and adapt will be given a chance to continue in camp,' said Dedevbo, who was assistant coach of the Super Falcons at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in China and also led the Flamingoes to Trinidad and Tobago last year.Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced over the weekend that the camps of the U-17 men's team and the U-20 women's team would soon open in Abuja.'The camp of the U-17 Men's Team, also known as Golden Eaglets, and the U-20 Women's Team, known as Falconets, will also open in Abuja this month,' said NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu.Manu Garba, who assisted the late Oluyemi Tella to steer the class of 2007 to World Cup glory in Korea Republic, heads the coaching crew of the U-17 men's team.Musa disclosed that the U-17 men's team will be screening in preparation for qualifiers for the 2013 African U-17 Championship, due in Morocco, while the U-20 girls will be screening in preparation for the African qualifiers of the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which will take place in Uzbekistan.The Super Eagles, he added, will also be involved in the qualification race for the 2013 African Cup of Nations, in which they have been drawn against Rwanda, as well as the 2014 FIFA World Cup African qualification series, in which they engage Namibia, Malawi and Kenya.
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