Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) Most Valuable Player, Janet Akekoromowei, popularly known as “S9,” has reported to the Nigeria U-20 women’s national team camp in Abuja ahead of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifying fixtures.

The 18-year-old forward was invited by the Falconets’ coaching crew as preparations intensify for the upcoming qualifiers, with Nigeria set to face Senegal in the next phase of the campaign.

Janet, who has rapidly risen through the ranks of Nigerian women’s football, is one of the few young players to have featured across multiple national team levels within a short period. She represented Nigeria at the U-17 level during the 2024 WAFU Nations Cup, featured at the U-20 World Cup in Colombia, and also earned a call-up to the Super Falcons for an international friendly against Algeria.

She also featured for Nigeria in earlier rounds of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers, where she found the net against Rwanda, further underlining her importance to the Falconets setup.

At club level, Janet gained prominence with Nasarawa Amazons, where her goal-scoring exploits earned her the nickname “S9.” In July 2025, she completed a move to Bayelsa Queens Football Club, strengthening the Yenagoa-based side ahead of the new season.

Her outstanding performances during the 2024/25 NWFL season earned her major individual honours, including the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Attacker of the Season awards at the Naija Women Football Awards, after finishing as the league’s second-highest goal scorer.

Head coach of the Falconets, Moses Aduku, expressed delight over Janet’s arrival in camp, describing her as a key asset to the team’s attacking plans.

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“We are excited Janet is back with us. We all know what she is capable of doing with both feet, and with the other players on ground, we shall excel in the upcoming games,” Aduku said.

The coach also reiterated the team’s focus on securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Poland.

“We are happy to be back and to start preparation for the World Cup qualifier against Senegal. We have 17 players in camp already, and by tomorrow we are expecting everybody to be in camp,” he added.

Nigeria boasts an impressive record at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, having participated in every edition of the tournament since its inception in 2002. The Falconets’ best performances came in 2010 and 2014, when they finished as runners-up.

While the full list of teams for the 24-nation tournament scheduled for September 5–27, 2026, is yet to be finalized, several countries have already booked their places, including host nation Poland, as well as Spain, England, France, Italy, Portugal, the United States, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and New Caledonia.

With experienced young talents like Janet Akekoromowei back in camp, the Falconets will be aiming to maintain their perfect qualification record and secure another appearance on the world stage.