The Golden Eaglets have declared their readiness to defend the WAFU B U-17 title they won two years ago as they kick-off their campaign against Burkina Faso today at the University Stadium, Ghana.
According to coach Manu Garba, the team is focused on the opening game as they aim to qualify for the 2025 U17 AFCON.
“The players have been responding to training. The weather is similar to what we experienced in Abuja before our departure. Our primary objective is to get one of the two tickets from here to the Africa U17 Cup of Nations. We will focus on the matches one at a time. For now, we are focused on our opening game against Burkina Faso on Thursday (today),” he said.
Today’s game is by 4pm before the Manu led side take on Niger Republic on Sunday, 19th May (7pm) and Togo on Wednesday, 22nd May (5pm).
It will be recalled that Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, led by coach Nduka Ugbade, defeated the Burkina Faso U17 national team 2-1 in the final in Ghana two years ago in the last edition of this tournament.
The match against Niger Republic will also hold at the University Stadium while the clash with Togo will take place at the Accra Sports Stadium.
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The regional tournament will serve as the qualifiers for the U-17 AFCON Tournament to be played in 2025.
Nigeria are the most successful team in the world at the cadet level, having won the FIFA U17 World Cup a record five times.
The Golden Eaglets, however, failed to qualify for the last edition of the World Cup in Indonesia after losing to Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals of the U17 AFCON.
The 2024 WAFU B U17 tournament is scheduled to take place from the 15th to the 28th of May in Accra.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football on Tuesday declared that all 20 players presented by Nigeria for the WAFU B U17 Championship starting in Accra, Ghana on Wednesday have passed the examination in flying colours.
The declaration of eligibility of all the 20 players is testimony that the tests conducted on the players by the Nigeria Football Federation before the team’s departure were perfect, and sets the tone for the country to have a full squad to defend the title she won last year, also in Ghana.
“We are happy about the results. Having the whole squad to prosecute the tournament somewhat puts our minds at rest,” an ecstatic Garba said.
