Golden Eaglets resume camp Wednesday, says Coach Ugbade

Nigeria’s Under 17 Men’s Football team, Golden Eaglets will resume camp on Wednesday after taking a break because of the general elections.

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

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

“Thereafter, the number will be trimmed down to 60 after the official MRI to be conducted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

“I am greatly satisfied with the number of talents seen so far. I have a pool of athletes to choose from, but talent in itself is no longer enough.

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“The talent has to be utilised, trained, go through the necessary requirement to produce results in the game,” he said.

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

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

Group B includes Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia.

READ ALSO: WAFU B U-17: Ugbade charges Golden Eaglets ahead final against Burkina Faso

The Golden Eaglets have won the competition twice, with 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 best 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 has Algeria, Senegal, Congo, Somalia while Group C comprises Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, and South Sudan.

(NAN)