By Wakawaka Sports
Chairman of the Imo State Football Association, Barrister Ifeanyi Dike, has congratulated Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, on their impressive performance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, with particular commendation for the six Imo-born players who represented the country.
Dike expressed delight at the contributions of the players, describing their achievements as a source of pride to Imo State and Nigeria.
The six Imo State indigenes in the Flamingos squad are captain Harmony Chidi of Mbieri, Mbaitoli LGA; Oscar Precious of Atta, Njaba LGA; Pattra Oparanmegwa of Uratta, Owerri North LGA; goalkeeper Onyinyechi Opara of Ogbaku, Mbaitoli LGA; Favour Nkwocha; and Oluebube Umejiaku of Heartland Queens FC, who emerged winner of the tournament’s Golden Ball award.
The FA chairman particularly celebrated Umejiaku’s individual honour and Harmony Chidi’s leadership as captain of the national team, describing their accomplishments as further evidence of Imo State’s rich contribution to women’s football.
He also recalled the state’s longstanding contribution to the Super Falcons, describing Imo as one of the backbones of women’s football development in Nigeria.
According to Dike, the consistent emergence of talented female footballers from the state underscores the need to strengthen grassroots football development and provide more opportunities for young girls.
He called on the Imo State Government, philanthropists, private individuals and corporate organisations to invest in women’s football, stressing that sustained support at the grassroots would help discover and nurture more talents for the national teams.
He further urged parents, football administrators and other stakeholders to continue believing in the state’s football development system and support efforts to take women’s football to greater heights.
Dike wished the Flamingos and all the Imo-born players continued success in their football careers, expressing confidence that greater investment in grassroots football would produce more international stars from the state.
