The Nigeria Football Federation has selected Chris Danjuma as the Head Coach for the U20 Women’s National Team, Falconets, following a thorough screening and interview process conducted by the NFF Technical Committee. The NFF initiated this process by issuing a one-week public notice inviting applications from qualified individuals. Shortlisted candidates were subsequently interviewed by the Technical Committee.
Chris Danjuma, who has previously assumed interim leadership of the Senior Women’s National Team, Super Falcons, guided the Falconets to the quarter-finals of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup last year in Costa Rica. He will receive support from Mansur Abdullahi, a former U20 and U17 girls’ assistant coach, and Effioanwan Ekpo, a former Super Falcons midfielder, according to the NFF’s announcement.
Effioanwan Ekpo, who represented Nigeria for a decade from 2000 to 2010, participated in various prestigious tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup finals in the USA (2003) and China (2007), as well as the Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008). She also won the Women Africa Cup of Nations three times and took part in the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers.
Yahaya Audu has been designated as the team’s goalkeeper trainer. The Falconets are set to kick off their 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign with a first-leg match against Mauritius in Saint Pierre on Sunday, October 8th, 2023, with the return leg scheduled for the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Saturday, October 14th, 2023.