Nigeria U17 women’s Head Coach, Bankole Olowookere, has insisted that he remains the same manager who guided the Flamingos to a historic bronze medal at the 2022 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, despite criticism following the team’s 2025 World Cup exit, www.aclsports.com reports.
Speaking after Nigeria’s elimination at the hands of Italy, Olowookere reflected on the tournament and expressed gratitude despite the disappointing result.
“We thank God. He took us there safely and brought us back with no injuries. The tournament has come and gone, but the memories remain, the lessons I learnt, and the exposure and experience for the players.”
Responding to criticism about squad quality and readiness, the coach stressed that the U17 category is developmental.
“I heard some people saying they are not experienced, which experience do you want an U17 player to get? From where? Are we saying they should get it from the womb? This is their learning period. I just need everybody to support them to grow and tell them they have a future ahead of them.”
Olowookere also highlighted the federation’s mandate to build a pathway of talent for higher national teams.
“The federation told me to produce players for the U20 and the Super Falcons, and I don’t think I have fallen short. From my first cycle we have Deborah Abiodun, Imuran, Taiwo Afolabi, Miracle Usani, many of them are doing well at senior level and abroad.”
The coach explained how he scouted and identified players across the country, noting media support in talent discovery.
“We are talking about people that were available when we were making selection. We cannot cover the whole country.
Maybe I should explain how I got some of the players. Some media people, if they are sincere, were part of my selection. Anytime there is a tournament somewhere and I know I won’t be there, I call media who are present: ‘If you see any player that fits U17 age, send me the names.’
If I get the same name from different places, that shows the player is exceptional. Any tournament around me that I can attend, I go. I spend my own money to watch tournaments and accommodate myself because I know what I am looking for.”
Olowookere maintained that he prioritised integrity when screening players’ ages.
“Looking for players, I did something because I wanted to select correctly. We found out some players who were already in the national setup were over-age. You can go and clarify it at the NWFL.
I presented their names, and when we checked their ages, we discovered that some of them did not match the records they used at U-17 level. I had to drop those players because I needed to do the right thing. I’m the one preaching integrity, so I must uphold it. I may not be perfect, but you can judge from this current squad — if their school records are available, you can go to their schools to verify. Some of them are still in SS2, SS3, and so on, and those details can be checked.
On representation across regions, he said:
“Nigeria has diverse tribes. This is the first time I truly balanced geopolitical selection. We had players from the North, East and West. We can’t cover the whole country, but we picked from where we could and from competitions.”
On his choice of goalkeepers, he explained developmental logic.
“Christiana Uzoma Ijeoma kept all the qualifiers and World Cup matches, but Elizabeth Boniface kept six clean sheets at the National Sports Festival. You can’t see a goalkeeper like that and ignore her. They need experience.”
Referencing his track record, he reinforced his credentials.
“Since 2020, we beat Guinea 6–1 away and 5–1 here. We beat South Africa on their soil. We beat Algeria home and away. They called me ‘Mr Six Six’. The same me they are talking about today is still the same me that brought the bronze to Nigeria.”
Accepting responsibility for the result, he vowed to improve and drew parallels with elite coaching experience.
“Football can be rough sometimes. Even great coaches have rough moments. We will learn and come back. I appreciate everyone and I apologise.
Even Pep, when it was a bit rough at Man City, he found a way to put himself together again. That’s football. Maybe they’ve worked out some of my strategy, so I need to re-strategise myself.”
