FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: Nigeria Draw Host, Dominican Republic In Group A
Nigeria’s female National Under-17 football team, the Flamingoes, will face hosts, Dominican Republic in Group A of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup tournament holding from 16th October to 3rd November 2024.
On Saturday, June 22nd, the draw for the eighth edition of the age-group competition held in Santo Domingo produced a host of fascinating encounters across the four groups.
Joining Nigeria and hosts Dominican Republic in Group A are Ecuador and New Zealand, while reigning world champions, Spain will flag-off their title defence in Group B alongside USA, Korea Republic and Colombia.
Each of the 16 teams now know their subsequent pathways at the tournament, with the final set to take place on 3 November in the nation’s capital.
The participating teams are Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, and Japan. Others are Kenya, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, USA and Zambia.
Interestingly, Ecuador, Kenya and Poland are all set to make their debuts at the tournament.
All The Groups
Group A: Dominican Republic, Ecuador, New Zealand, Nigeria
Group B: Spain, USA, Korea Republic, Colombia
Group C: Korea DPR, Mexico, Kenya, England
Group D: Japan, Poland, Brazil, Zambia
This will be the Dominican Republic’s first appearance at a FIFA women’s showpiece, and it comes at a time when the national football scene is on a high.
The country featured at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup for the first time last year, and the men’s Olympic squad are primed for their maiden campaign at Paris 2024.
The draw is the latest major milestone in the countdown to the tournament, following the launch of the Official Emblem, the announcement of the match schedule and the opening of the registration process for the volunteer programme.
The upcoming tournament in the Caribbean nation will be the last instalment involving 16 nations line-up, with the edition scheduled for Morocco in 2025 expected to feature 24 teams.
Saturday’s draw was compered by Avelino Cuadra, a journalist, football commentator and content creator, and hosted by FIFA Director of Tournaments Jaime Yarza.
Yarza was assisted by Dominican athlete and mountaineer, Thais Herrera, the first woman from the country to climb Mount Everest, and the Canada-born Mexican player, Tatiana Flores, who represented the Mexican National team, El Tri, at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup hosted by India.
Tickets for the FIFA U-17 Dominican Republic 2024, which will be played in Santo Domingo and Santiago de los Caballeros between 16 October and 3 November, will go on sale on 27th August.
