Golden Eaglets resume camp Wednesday, says Coach Ugbade

Nigeria’s Under 17 football team, the Golden Eaglets will resume their camp on Wednesday after a break due to the general election.

Nduka Ugbade, the Coach of the U-17 team, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that about 90 players who had earlier undergone Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) will return to Abuja.

“Around 90 players who have passed the MRI will resume camp on Wednesday.

“Furthermore, the number will be reduced to 60 after the official MRI that will be conducted Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

“I am very pleased with the amount of talent that has been seen so far. I have a pool of athletes to choose from, but talent in itself is no longer enough.

“The talent must be harnessed, trained, go through the necessary requirements to produce results in the game,” he said.

The team is preparing for the U-17 African Cup scheduled to be held in May in the cities of Algiers, Constantine, and Annaba, in Algeria, where they were drawn into Group B.

After their impressive performance at the WAFU Zone B Championship in June 2022 ended with them emerging as champions, the Ugbade-coached team qualified for the group stage of the Nations Cup.

Group B includes Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia.

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The Golden Eaglets have won the competition twice, the most recent coming from the 2007 squad that went on to win the World Cup.

In the last edition of the tournament in 2019, FC Copenhagen winger Akinkunmi Amoo was in the squad that finished fourth in the competition.

The top four teams from the Africa Cup of Nations will qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru between November and December 2023.

Group A includes Algeria, Senegal, Congo, Somalia, and Group C includes Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, and South Sudan.

(AT)