The Nigeria Football Federation has named Chris Danjuma as the Head Coach of the U20 Women’s National Team, Falconets, following a comprehensive screening and interview process conducted by the NFF Technical Committee.
The NFF initiated the screening process with a one-week public notice requesting applications from qualified individuals. Afterward, shortlisted candidates underwent interviews conducted by a panel of the Technical Committee. Chris Danjuma, who has previously assumed temporary charge of the Senior Women’s National Team, Super Falcons, led the Falconets to the quarter-finals in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals held in Costa Rica last year.
Assisting him in this role will be Mansur Abdullahi, a former U20 and U17 girls’ assistant coach, along with Effioanwan Ekpo, a former Super Falcons’ midfielder, as announced by the NFF on Wednesday.
Ekpo, who proudly represented Nigeria for a decade from 2000 to 2010, participated in major international tournaments. She featured in the 2003 and 2007 FIFA World Cup finals held in the USA and China, respectively. Additionally, she took part in the 2004 and 2008 Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments in Athens and Beijing, respectively, and clinched gold at the Women Africa Cup of Nations on three separate occasions. She also contributed to Nigeria’s efforts at the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers.
Yahaya Audu has been appointed as the goalkeeper trainer for the team.
The Falconets are set to kick off their qualifying campaign for the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup with a second-round, first-leg match against Mauritius in Saint Pierre on Sunday, October 8th, 2023, while the return leg is scheduled to take place at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Saturday, October 14th, 2023.
