{"id":14049,"date":"2026-11-10T11:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T11:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/flamingos-world-cup-triumph-highlights-nigerias-wealth-of-football-talents-akuneto\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T11:01:02","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T11:01:02","slug":"flamingos-world-cup-triumph-highlights-nigerias-wealth-of-football-talents-akuneto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/flamingos-world-cup-triumph-highlights-nigerias-wealth-of-football-talents-akuneto\/","title":{"rendered":"Flamingos\u2019 World Cup Triumph Highlights Nigeria\u2019s Wealth Of Football Talents \u2013 Akuneto"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chuks Akuneto, a Nigerian-born football coach based in England, has praised the Nigeria U-17 Women\u2019s National Team, the Flamingos, following their historic 2-1 victory over Japan in Saturday\u2019s 2026 FIFA U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup final in Morocco, Completesports.com<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring for the impressive Flamingos in the first half, before Oluebube Umejiaku doubled Nigeria\u2019s advantage after the break.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Fuki Ito subsequently reduced the deficit, but Nigeria held on to secure a historic victory, claiming their first-ever FIFA U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup title.<\/p>\n

The triumph also marked the first time an African nation had won a FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup title.<\/p>\n

Akuneto Hails Flamingos\u2019 World Cup Success<\/h3>\n

Speaking to Completesports.com from his base in the United Kingdom shortly after the final whistle, Akuneto, a former Oldham Athletic U-19 coach and UEFA A-licensed coach, described the Flamingos\u2019 achievement as a testament to the wealth of footballing talent in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe girls have done really well indeed, and I must commend their tenacity, focus and determination,\u201d Akuneto said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis victory highlights the tremendous depth of talent available in Nigerian women\u2019s football and the enormous potential that comes with it.<\/p>\n

Read Also:2026 U-17 WWC: Flamingos Bag $50,000 for Historic Title Win<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cProfessionally, I am confident that European clubs will be lining up to sign some of these talented players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reward For World Champions<\/h3>\n

Asked what he considered an appropriate reward for the young players in recognition of the honour they had brought to the country, particularly at a time of growing political and economic challenges in Nigeria, Akuneto said the decision rested with the country\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of financial rewards, I will leave that to the powers that be, as it is usually a political decision,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Need For Support And Investment<\/h3>\n

However, he stressed that beyond financial rewards, the players deserved sustained support and investment to help them build on their success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team should be supported and further developed to prepare them for future challenges as they progress through the various age-grade levels of the women\u2019s national teams,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Bright Future Ahead For Flamingos<\/h3>\n

Akuneto expressed confidence in the players\u2019 prospects, insisting that their achievement was only the beginning of what promises to be a bright future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future is, no doubt, bright for these players,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

By Sab Osuji <\/strong>
<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Complete Sports<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chuks Akuneto, a Nigerian-born football coach based in England, has praised the Nigeria U-17 Women\u2019s National Team, the Flamingos, following their historic 2-1 victory over Japan in Saturday\u2019s 2026 FIFA… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14049\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}