The coaches of Nigeria’s U-18 and U-20 women’s handball teams have announced final squads of 14 players each for the IHF Women’s Trophy Zonal Phase.
The competition will take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from April 20 to 24, 2025.
Both teams trained for two weeks at Rowe Park Sports Centre, Yaba, Lagos, and departed for Abidjan Thursday morning.
Coach John Uzor of the U-18 side selected Joy Omole of Defender Babes and her sister, Shola Omole, alongside Princess Ojie and Fausat Balogun.
Also named are Success Duru, Sharon Okonkwo and Chetachi Ngaodurubie of COAS Babes, among several others.
For the U-20 team, Coach Shittu Agboola has retained most players he nurtured during their U-18 days.
The squad is led by Captain Chidera Ogbusimba and includes her Rima Queens teammates, the Samuel sisters, Amina Mohammed and Joy Peters.
Israel-based Rahima Bello, Kehinde Babatunde of ASPAC HBC, and Benin-based Esther Mathew also kept their places in the squad.
Key player Taiwo Babatunde misses out after Yaba College of Technology refused to release her due to academic commitments.
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Coach Shittu expressed disappointment but remained confident that the team would represent Nigeria proudly, as they had done in the past.
“I’m upset Taiwo won’t be part of the squad as her school refused to release her because she is writing exams.
“We did all we could to secure her release, but they insisted on her staying for academic reasons.
“Nonetheless, the core of the team remains intact and I’m confident we’ll perform well in Abidjan,” Shittu said.
In the U-18 category, Nigeria are in Group A with Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso.
They will begin against Togo on Sunday at 11 a.m.
They will face Burkina Faso on Monday at 9 a.m., then wrap up group play against Ghana on Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Nigeria’s U-20 team are in Group B with Benin Republic and Togo.
They open against Togo on Monday at 3 p.m.
Their second match comes against Benin Republic on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Abidjan.
All fixtures are scheduled to be played at the Salle Polyvalente des Parcs de Sport de Treichville Multipurpose Hall.
The U-18 players are: Joy Omole, Angela Ngaodurubie, Shola Omole, Sharon Okonkwo, Princess Ojie, Abigail Nestor, and Fausat Balogun.
Also listed are Salamatu Audu, Mohammed Balikis, Success Duru, Phoebe Oluwalade, Aliya Adebayo, Sarah Peter and Treasure Mike-Osagie.
The U-20 squad includes goalkeepers, Kehinde Babatunde and Precious Samuel, centre back Rahima Bello and right back Esther Mathew.
Others are Ijeoma Izuoba, left back Prudence Samuel, Christiana Michael, Amina Mohammed, and Joy Peters.
Lucy Onyekwere and Aishat Mahmud feature as right wingers, with pivots Marim Ojo and Damilola Akinlade also included.
Source: NAN
