EXCLUSIVE: Injury sidelines three key players of Poland-bound Falconets

***As team departs Abuja

By Harry Awurumibe, Editor-in-Chief

The twin problems of lack of good football training pitches in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and none functionality of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja have conspired against Nigeria’s U-20 women’s football team, the Falconets as three key players will not make the trip today to Poland for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals holding from

September 5 to 27, 2026, due to injuries,

Prompt News reports.

A 28-man Nigerian delegation including 22 players, three coaches and three backroom staff will depart Abuja today for Warsaw, capital of Poland for the youth World Cup but without three key players who got injured due to bad playing surfaces during the team’s pre-tournament training sessions in Abuja.

Camp sources revealed that the poor sports infrastructures ravaging the FCT and none availability of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja main bowl pitch and also bad conditions of the three practice pitches in the complex forced the team to train in the over-used Goal Project artificial pitch at Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja Package B where the players got in injured frequently.

But a worried Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has to shift the Falconets training to privately owned natural grass pitch in the Central Business Districts (CBD) which the federation is paying hugely to ensure that the Poland-bound Falconets train in the natural turf like the pitch they would play on during the World Cup.

However, the three injured players have since been substituted by head coach Moses Adukwu as the team which will arrive Hotel Trzebnica in Trzebnica, Poland today is scheduled to play two

preparation warm-up m friendly matches against hosts Poland and Korea Republic before the tournament kicks off on September 5.

Nigeria has been pitched in Group F and will start her campaign on September 7 against tough opposition Spain,  confronts China on September 10 and tackle New Caledonia on September 13 to round off the group stage.