'Covid-19 not a thing to toy with' - Nigeria's Olowookere reacts to U17 Women's World Cup rescheduling

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The Flamingoes are set to face Ghana in the final round of two-legged ties to claim a ticket to the international showpiece

Nigeria U17 women's national team head coach Bankole Olowookere has hailed the decision of Fifa to reschedule the 2020 Women's World Cup due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The Flamingoes had seen off Guinea with an aggregate score of 11-2 in the second round of the preliminaries in March, with a 6-1 first-leg win in Conakry before a 5-1 second leg triumph in Lagos.

In April, Caf announced the indefinite suspension of the final round of the qualifiers which was initially scheduled for May following the global health crisis arising from Covid-19 outbreak.

This week, Fifa postponed the showpiece earlier billed for November 2-21 in India, to February 17 - March 7, 2021.

As the postponement avail more time to countries to prepare, the Dream Stars Ladies coach is delighted with the postponement, noting that it is unhealthy for anyone to toy with the virus.

“The postponement is okay because this Covid-19 is not a thing that anybody can toy with, it’s not just about Nigeria alone but other nations as well," Olowookere told Brilla.net.

“So, it’s better we let the coast to be clear before any other thing for the safety of everybody. With this now is a long time for everybody and everything to return to normal."

Having seen off Guinea, the Flamingoes were initially scheduled to face neighbours Ghana in May in the final round of the qualifiers for a ticket to India, but Caf postponed the ties until further notice.

Since the team decamped following their win over Guinea in Lagos, the tactician revealed how he has been managing to connect with his players via social media to ensure they stay fit.

“As a coach when situations come up like this, you have to shift the post and device new method of keeping our players physically fit," Olowookere continued.

"So we evolved in our coaching method by sending messages to them through our social media group on WhatsApp on the kind of exercise to do to ensure their physical fitness.

"Individually they train on their own and we monitor them. The only challenge is to have them train as a group now when we resume.”

The winner of the match on aggregate between Nigeria and Ghana will pick one of the three tickets to represent Africa in India.

2020-05-15 23:00:05

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