THE U-17 Women National Team, nicknamed Flamingoes, will on Friday return to camp from a five-day break, to start preparation in earnest for the final round of African qualifiers for the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup finals, holding in Azerbaijan.Chairman of the NFF Technical Committee, Barrister Chris Green, said after the team's victory against Kenya on Saturday that the team would observe a 5-day break ahead of the potentially explosive final round fixture against Zambia, coming up next month.'We decided to allow the girls and the technical crew a 5-day break to refresh, after which they will regroup in Abuja on Friday. Despite the comfortable aggregate win over Kenya, we have observed a number of things that the team has to perfect before the next fixture.'The Zambians would not be easy. I learnt they dismissed Botswana 5-1 in Botswana in their first leg match. So, we have to be at our best for the two-leg encounter', said Green, who watched the match in Abeokuta.The Flamingoes host the first leg of the fixture against the Zambians, on March 10, before the return leg in Lusaka two weeks later.On Saturday, goals by Tessy Biahwoh, Yetunde Adeboyejo and Halima Ayinde saw the Flamingoes to a 3-0 win, to make for 5-0 triumph on aggregate. All the goals were scored in the second half, during which Biahwoh also missed a penalty kick.Moreover, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has congratulated members of the national Under-17 female football team, The Flamingoes, for their brilliant performance in the World Cup Qualifying match against their Kenyan counterparts by defeating them by three goals to nothing in a match played over the weekend at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta.Governor Amosun expressed delight that the Flamingoes dominated the 90 minutes of the match and entertained the spectators with good display of soccer artistry.He said the good people of the state were happy to host the national U-17 woman team and would always be ready to host international matches involving any of the national teams.'The captain of the team told me and my delegation when we visited them during one of their training sessions that the last time the Flamingoes played in Abeokuta the soil was favourable to them. Thank God, the team won Saturday's match decisively on the same soil', the governor said.He urged the team to go ahead and not only qualify for the World Cup but to bring home the trophy and join the nation's Hall of Fame in football.The governor promised the support of the state government to all sportsmen and women who hope to shift base to the state because of the belief that sports can be used as a veritable instrument to mobilise the youth for development.Throughout last week, the state government deployed its resources to support the Flamingoes as the governor even hosted members and officials of the team to a dinner at the Government House, Oke Igbein.
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