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Less than few hours is remaining to submit the final squad list for the 2024 WAFU B U-17 tournament and more than half of the Nigerian players have been disqualified due to failing the age verification test.
This could result to losing their spot in the tournament, which is scheduled to kick off in a matter of weeks.
It’s a big shame to hear that half of Golden Eaglets first team players failed the mandatory (MRI) age test for the WAFU B U-17 Tournament.
Reports say the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has up till Monday 6th of May, 2024 to submit the squad list for the tournament coming up in Accra, Ghana between May 15 and 29.
Now, football analysts are saying this embarrassment is avoidable.
The NFF has an U-15 side popularly called FUTURE EAGLES (pictured). Can’t the team be drafted to play in the WAFU B U-17 tournament? Or is it a must-win for Golden Eaglets hence they assembled overaged players?
The last time, (precisely on April 8, 2024), the Future Eagles were to attend the UEFA U-16 Development Championship in Spain.
It was an invitational competition and Nigeria was invited but the Spanish Embassy denied the boys visa.
The question is why can’t the Future Eagles represent Nigeria in the WAFU B U-17 Tournament?
Why the stress when Nigeria have an U-15 side that was fully prepared for an European championship held recently?
According to a team official, the ordeal could be blamed on their late assemblage to camp:
“It’s a disaster. First of all, we did not start preparation on time as usual, and now the majority of the first-choice players have been eliminated after failing the MRI test.”
Recall Garba Manu was reappointed as the manager of the Nigeria U17 team last month by the NFF. He had previously led the team to Nigeria’s fourth U-17 World Cup triumph in the United Arab Emirates in 2013, and he also served as an assistant to the late Yemi Tella during the 2007 triumph in South Korea.
After his reappointment, Garba affirmed he had submitted a list of 51 players for screening, of which he scouted more than half.
