
10 March 2016 – The South African u17 Women’s National Team, Bantwana, has safely arrived in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria and is already settled in their hotel.
Bantwana left for Abuja on Tuesday night (8 March 2016).
Bantwana will host Nigeria in the return leg on Saturday, 26 March 2016 at the Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa, Johannesburg.
The away leg in Abuja will be South Africa’s first official match in the World Cup qualifiers after their opposition in the previous round, Zambia, withdrew from the competition.
On the other hand, Nigeria booked their spot in the 3rd round after beating Namibia 9-0 on aggregate in a match played in January this year.
Bantwana’s stand-in coach Maude Khumalo is aware of the threat that the West Africans pose, but insists that they will not be bullied out of an opportunity to qualify for Jordan.
“We will not be a walk over for the Nigerians, we intend on fighting for this qualifier. South Africa missed out on the last world cup and would want to change that. The girls are very hungry, very determined and motivated by the prospects of their future. A win is very important so we that we return home with less pressure and hopefully finish off the job in Johannesburg,” said Khumalo.
The clash between Nigeria and Bantwana kicks off at 16h00 local time (17h00 SA Time) and will be staged on Saturday, 12 March 2016 at the Abuja National Stadium in Nigeria.