Nigeria’s Under-20 women’s national football team, the Falconets, have been dealt a severe administrative blow on the eve of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Team captain Joe Igbokwe and key defender Faridat Abdulwahab have been officially ruled out of the global tournament after failing to secure entry visas into Poland.
The unexpected administrative hurdle forced head coach Moses Aduku to make two emergency changes to his final 21-player squad shortly after the delegation arrived at their camp in Trzebnica on Tuesday.
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With Igbokwe and Abdulwahab unable to travel to Eastern Europe, Maduku reacted swiftly by calling up Vivian Kachi and Alaba Olabiyi as direct replacements.
The loss of Igbokwe is particularly painful for the technical crew. As team captain, the influential midfielder was the emotional and tactical anchor of the squad throughout the African qualifying rounds. However, Coach Aduku expressed confidence that Kachi and Olabiyi will step up to fill the void.
