Kanu Nwankwo Flying Eagles good enough to win U-20 World Cup

What is your own assessment of the President’s Cup?
The championship which is in its first edition is going on well. The coaches of the junior national teams are expected to pick the right players for the national teams.
What have organisers of this tournament done to sustain it?
That is a good question because right now we have struggled to reach this level. You know in Nigeria we always complain that we don’t have the players, we have to go to grassroots but when you knock at the door that you need assistance, everybody will run. But that is not going to push us back from what we are doing. We are up to 70 per cent through but no corporate body is assisting us. And we keep battling with government. We put more of our personal funds into it which is not supposed to be so. Such a championship is a tournament that people have to embrace and make sure that it keeps going. But this is not happening. After this first edition, we shall go back to the drawing board and from what we have learnt we try and do more to make sure that we sustain it.
Age cheats have always been the bane of championships of this nature. What are the organisers doing to protect the President’s Cup against age cheats?
We have the technical committee who are on top of the matter you have just mentioned. That was the first thing they said they would tackle and I believe they have done that. When I shook the players’ hands I could see that they are young. The technical committee are doing a great job. We need good footballers and we would get there and know we have done something.
Super Eagles will commence their 2017 AFCON qualifiers against Chad on June 13 in Kaduna. Do you think Nigeria will qualify?
It is surprising that somebody is asking, if Nigeria will qualify. The giant of football?. There is no asking if we are going to qualify. The only thing is what I said before, they have to sort out the coaches in good time. Thank God that Stephen keshi is back. He signed a contract and he is going to lead the team. So we have to support the team. He won the Nations Cup everybody was happy. He did not qualify and everybody wanted to kill him. I believe he has got the experience and it is now for him to sit down and draw a programme and make sure we qualify.
Would you say we have the players who will do the job of qualifying for the 2017 AFCON?
We played the Nations Cup and won in 2013 but we failed to continue from there. We were bringing in players and trying to put up a team and that really affected us. But now if you ask me if we have a team, of course we do not have a team. We are starting from the scratch. He needs to invite players and make sure they play according to his pattern or what he wants. It is not going to be the same old team that played in the Nations Cup. There are going to be new faces so it is left for him to decide what his plan is. But like I said it is not only him. We have to talk to him and support him so we build the team as fast as we can.
Are you not disturbed by the fact that most of our players are not playing regularly for their European clubs?
Of course it bothers everybody but if you are a good player you are a good player. However, if you are not playing, fitness wise, it is not good. We need them to be fit. Of course it is not Papilo who is going to play for them. They also know that if they are playing in their clubs, the chances of playing for the Super Eagles are there. One thing they forget is that playing for the Super Eagles is bigger than playing for the clubs. And it is time we let whosoever is coming to wear that shirt to understand that he is carrying 170 millions Nigerians on his shoulders. Nigerians don’t want to come second, third or fourth which is not a good mentality but that is the only way we can push them to get results for us. Whoever is coming in should know that wearing that jersey is more than his club. Even the biggest clubs the national team is bigger than that.
There is this clamour for members of the present Flying Eagles to be included in the Super Eagles. What is your position on this?
Why not, if you see a good player who is 16 years and you know he is good he is good. Rooney started playing for Manchester United early and I know when I joined the national team. I was very young. When a player is good, age does not matter. It is just what the person can do. If a good coach has a young player and seizes the opportunity, why not. The more you give him the chance to play with the more experienced players, the faster he grows. So if you ask me, of course we don’t have to wait until they are 30 years before you invite them.
What are the chances of the Flying Eagles at the forthcoming FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand?
They are very good. The last time they were U17 and when they were going for the youth championship in UAE, I said they were going to be world champions and they won. And now they are U-20 so why not. They are the same team so why not. I know they are going to do us proud. I am relaxed when I see them play. Now that they are going to start their tournament, I am not panicking. Nigerians should relax and enjoy them. All the friendly games they have played, they won and not only winning but in style. We have to support them.
They will be playing their opening game against Brazil. What is your take on this important clash?
Starting their campaign against Brazil is a good one. If you want to be a champion you play the best and I think Brazil is the best. If they can play Brazil in the first game, it will help us to know who they are and what they are doing. It is good for the coaches also. I am sure they want to prove something and if they can best Brazil, the tournament will be theirs.