WeeklySA_AdminPRODIGY: The national captain is one of the most promising young footballers on the African continent, hence Cameroon will be counting on her talent as they head to their third FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup…
By Own Correspondent
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ has historically provided an ideal platform for the world’s top young stars to showcase their talent on the global stage.
However, some players start making headlines even before the World Cup showpiece. In Cameroon, Lys Fraiche Tiwa is already a household name. The 17-year-old is heralded not only as one of her country’s biggest starlets but she’s also been making waves across the whole continent.
Her meteoric rise becomes even more remarkable when the young athlete shares a surprising story about herself: “I didn’t start playing football until I was 13 years old.”
Despite having only played the game for four years, Cameroon’s emerging star is on the cusp of making her World Cup debut. “Before, I only played in the neighbourhood with my brothers”, she explains. “And it was when my older brother saw that I could play that he took me to play for AS Green City, who play in Cameroon’s second division.”
It was in Yaounde, the nation’s capital, that Lys Fraiche discovered football on a different level.
“When I arrived, I discovered the rules and I had to adjust, but it’s okay, they aren’t too difficult to understand”, she adds with a smile.
If anything, the step-up to club football only pushed the gifted Cameroonian to rise even higher. It wasn’t long before she broke into Cameroon’s top division. With Lekie Filles FC, she proved every bit of her promise – and was crowned Revelation of the Season.
Having become a key player for her club, she soon made the breakthrough into the U-17 national team. Despite a disappointing qualifying campaign for the 2024 tournament in the Dominican Republic, the U-17s set the record straight by securing their ticket to Morocco 2025 – and it was no surprise that Tiwa played an instrumental role from start to finish.
“It was incredible, because we won all our matches and I managed to score in each game”, recalls the striker, clearly still on cloud nine.
“Now, we’re going to play at the World Cup, and I’m so happy. It’s a dream come true to be here and now I want to go one step further and win the whole tournament.” The young trailblazer had no doubts when asked about which team she is most looking forward to facing at the tournament: “The Netherlands, not because they’re European Champions, but because it’s the first match. That’s the most important one!”
After the opening encounter with the Netherlands, Cameroon will take on Korea DPR and Mexico in Group B. Despite the tough opposition, Tiwa takes comfort in the fact that they have “a good group” of players.
“We are united and we understand each other well on the pitch. We are a collective unit. We’re all getting behind each other because we’ve waited a long time for this World Cup. Now, we’re here and we know that we can do big things.”
Tiwa’s power and goal-scoring instinct will certainly come in handy as she hopes to be a handful against three opponents who are all serious contenders to take home the title.
Already recognised for her performances and individual awards, the Cameroon captain intends to use Morocco 2025 as a springboard to reach the next level. “I dream of playing for a big European club and I’m not afraid of leaving home”, she adds with steely determination.
“Every footballer has to leave at some point. When the moment presents itself, I’d tell myself that it’s my time and I have to go and do it for my family.”
But the question marks surrounding Tiwa’s future have been put to one side since she arrived in Morocco, and the striker is only focused on one thing: the World Cup.
“My personal goal is to win the Golden Boot and for the team to reach the final. I know that Cameroon can do it.”
Tiwa clearly has very big ambitions, but with her astronomical rise over the last four years, the sky is the limit for Cameroon’s new star. – Fifa.com
