The Baby Gladiators are determined to improve their performance this year following an underwhelming showing in 2024.
The team assembled for camp on Sunday, ahead of their first assignment of the new year which will see them face Uganda in Kampala over two legs of Fifa under-17 Women’s World Cup qualification next week.
Uganda host the first leg on 16 January at the Kampala Hamz Stadium, with the second leg scheduled for 19 January at the same stadium.
Baby Warriors head coach Hafeni Ndeitunga stresses the importance of putting their best foot forward, in what is expected to be testing matches against Uganda.
His side endured a torrid time at the Cosafa tournament for their age group in November and December, losing all three of their matches by high scores.
However, changes are afoot to remedy the situation, he says.
“We are starting from the ground up and assembling a new team after the 2024 Cosafa Girls Championship. We needed to come back to the drawing board and work out a better plan. The results were bad but we learned what works for us and what doesn’t, and what key areas needed improvement,” Ndeitunga said in an interview posted on the NFA website yesterday.
“As much as we would like to keep all the girls that participated last year in the CAF U15 Schools Championship and Cosafa Girls Championship because they were exposed to international football, that is not the reality for us at home.
“This is a different competition and we want to go all the way,” said Ndeitunga, who added that preparations are going well.
He is particularly satisfied with the girls’ dedication.
“The girls are determined and putting in the work for the next two days. The technical team and I will be working on trimming the squad, and after that, we can focus on the tactical aspects and how we want the girls to play,” Ndeitunga added.
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