WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Super Falcons’ Ashleigh Plumptre joins Saudi Women’s Premier League club Al-Ittihad
Nigeria defender Ashleigh Plumptre has joined Saudi club Al-Ittihad on a free transfer, having left Leicester City.
Plumptre, who played all four Nigeria matches at the Women’s World Cup, is one of the Saudi Women’s Premier League’s most high-profile signings.
A former age-group international with England, she switched allegiance to Nigeria in 2022.
“[I am] excited to start this journey alongside some incredible human beings,” the 25-year-old said.
Plumptre started all but two of Leicester’s Women’s Super League (WSL) games last season as the team finished 10th.
Kelly Lindsey, a former US international who this summer left the role of Lewes FC’s head of performance, will be Plumptre’s new manager at Al-Ittihad.
Men’s Saudi Pro League teams have spent eye-catching sums in the transfer window, with Al-Ittihad’s recent additions including Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, and this has led to accusations the country is seeking to ‘sportswash’ its reputation.
There are concerns over human rights in Saudi Arabia, including a lack of women’s and LGBTQ+ rights as well as the country’s use of the death penalty with same-sex sexual activity illegal and potentially punishable by death.
Saudi Arabia’s first women’s football league was launched in 2020, two years after women were first allowed into stadiums in the kingdom, but campaigners say more still needs to be done.
Al-Ittihad were one of four Saudi clubs taken over by the country’s Public Investment Fund earlier this year.
Peter Hutton, who sits on the Saudi Pro League board, said in August that “changes in the role of women in Saudi community are remarkable and moving very fast.”
Hutton added: “I look at the evidence I see. You’ve now got 50,000 school girls playing football. You’ve got 1,000 women coaches. In 2018 there were 750 registered coaches. Now there are over 5,500.
“So you see that as evidence of change, and women’s football development as part of societal change. That for me is the real attraction of this project.”
Saudi Arabia’s women’s team entered the Fifa world rankings for the first time earlier this year and the country is bidding to host the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup.
-BBC
Despite wintry conditions in Blida, on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, Algiers, Nigeria’s U17 girls dug their feet into the ground on Friday night.
They achieved a scoreless draw that qualified them for this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals.
Holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage, the 2002 bronze medallists adopted a calm and collected pattern that easily soaked up the expected pressure from the hosts and then relied on fast breaks to try and pull the trigger on their opponents.
Although they created better chances on the night, the Flamingos failed to make dominance in possession pay, but swiftly collected the ticket to Morocco on a 4-0 aggregate win.
The difference over two legs of the final round was a remarkable display in the opening leg by the Flamingos, during which a brace by Queen Joseph and one each by Zainab Raji and substitute Aisha Animashaun ensured a 4-0 win.
The Flamingos will now be one of Africa’s five representatives (including hosts Morocco) at this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals taking place from 17th October – 5th November. The final competition will entertain 24 teams for the very first time.
Since the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup competition was launched in New Zealand in 2008, Nigeria have failed to make the finals only once – the 2018 tournament hosted by Uruguay.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Despite heavy first leg loss, Algeria hopeful of a turnaround in Nigeria’s Flamingos clash
The Algeria U17 women’s national team still hope for a possible turnaround in this Friday night clash with Nigeria’s Flamingos.
Algeria lost 4-0 in the first leg match in Ikenne last Saturday.
The Algerians completed their preparations on Thursday at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Centre, the eve of the return match against Nigeria.
The return match is scheduled for this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida. Aggregate winners will pick a ticket to the FIFA U-17 Women’s 2025 World Cup.
According to sources in Algeria, all the players took part in the final session, during which coach Abdenour Mira finalised the tactical details for the make or mar encounter.
Despite the heavy defeat conceded in the first leg (4-0), the young Algerians approach this match with the desire to finish well and deliver an honourable performance against a formidable Nigerian team.
During the technical meeting held early in the afternoon at the FAF headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the two teams and the organisers, it was decided that Algeria will play in green, while Nigeria will wear white.
The match will be officiated by Cameroonian Aline Marie Noelle Guimbang, assisted by her compatriot Laurie Marcelle Tsafack Teikeu and Chadian Victorine Ngarassoum.
The fourth official will also be Cameroonian, Innoncentia Njang Ntangti.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Under possible cold weather in Blida, Nigeria’s Flamingos set to grab World Cup ticket
The weather is most likely to be cold, but Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, are set to continue a tradition of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, which has had eight editions, out of which the Flamingos featured in seven.
Only Japan, with 100 per cent attendance, has featured in more competitions than Nigeria’s Flamingos.
They look poised to feature again after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria in the first leg of the final qualifying series.
Apart from their opponents, Algeria, they have the expected cold weather to battle with at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida (outside Algiers), on Friday night.
Friday’s encounter against their Algerian counterparts is the final leg of a final qualifying round fixture, with the Flamingos, bronze-medallists from the 2022 finals in India and quarterfinalists from the last edition in the Dominican Republic, holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage.
The Federation Algerienne de Football (FAF) has scheduled the match to kick off at 8 pm, at a time when the winds will begin to blow in stronger from the Mediterranean Sea.
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