After witnessing the Golden Eaglets’ 4-0 triumph over Espora Football Academy in a test match at the FIFA Goal Project pitch, Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, former youth international, Soga Sambo admitted the team exceeded his expectations.
Sambo, a member of the 2001 Golden Eaglets squad that represented Nigeria at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago which won a silver medal, praised the team’s cohesion and style of play.
Despite having been in camp for less than two weeks, the players demonstrated impressive unity and compactness on the field.
“If you look at how the team played, you’d think they’ve been together in camp for a long time, which is very impressive,” Sambo said.
He added: “I didn’t expect the team to perform like this given they just started training last week. But with the quality of coaches they have, led by Manu Garba, I believe this squad will be very strong ahead of the WAFU B tournament.”
After a shaky start in the preliminary stages of the ongoing National Sports Festival, tagged Gateway Games 2024, Team Ogun has secured a spot in the final of the men’s football event, defeating the Golden Eaglets 2-1 in a thrilling semi-final clash on Sunday.
The match, held at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, saw Team Ogun display impressive skill, confidence, and determination—fueled by an electrifying home crowd—to outplay the Eaglets and book a place in the final.
Team Ogun had a rough beginning, losing 1-0 to Team Ebonyi in their opening match. However, they bounced back with dominant victories over Team FCT (3-1) and Team Borno (4-1) to advance from the group stage. In the quarter-finals, they edged past Team Delta with another 2-1 win.
Head coach Akeem Daranijo, visibly thrilled after the semi-final triumph, said his team is fully focused on clinching the gold medal.
Team Ogun will now face Team Kwara in the final, scheduled for Tuesday at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Kuto, Abeokuta.
Team Kwara earned their place in the final after defeating Team Kaduna 1-0 in the first semi-final, setting the stage for a highly anticipated showdown.
Former captain of the Golden Eaglets, the national men’s U-17 team , Fortune Chukudi, has expressed deep concern over the persistent lack of structure in the country’s youth football system.
Chukudi, speaking on the state of grassroots football, noted that the challenges facing youth development have remained unchanged due to consistent neglect.
“This is the same issue we’ve been talking about for years—there is still no proper attention given to grassroots football,” the now 32-year-old former centre back ,told Brila Fm. “We need to start building from the ground up if we truly want to develop young talent.”
He stressed that a well-organized system is essential for nurturing players, especially at the U-17 level.
“If we provide a solid structure, we can create a better platform for our U-17 players to grow, compete, and succeed. The foundation has to be strong,” he emphasized.
Chukudi called on football authorities and stakeholders to take decisive steps toward developing long-term structures that support young talents and ensure the future success of Nigerian football.
Manu Garba, former Nigeria international midfielder, is undoubtedly the most decorated coach with strings of medallion on his neck that include two FIFA U-17 World Cup gold, added to being the ‘Special One’ with a never-ending affinity with the Golden Eaglets for almost two decades.
The former El-Kanemi of Maiduguri star first made the headlines as an assistant coach to the then-sick and now late coach Yemi Tella as he almost singlehandedly blooded the team that won Nigeria’s third FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2007. He would then lead the Golden Eaglets yet to another title at the 2013 edition held in the UAE where the Nigerian team was regarded as probably the best ever FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning team. Between then and now, coach Garba has tinkered with the national U-17 albeit without little success with the latest being a bronze medal finish at the WAFU B U-17 Championships held in Accra.
With a section of the public saying the U-17 coaching train has left Garba, the 59-year-old has admitted that nothing gives him much pleasure than tending to players at their formative years, adding that his attachment with the Golden Eaglets is not for anything but service to his beloved country.
“Of course, I’m a father to the players; a manager who loves to instil knowledge, discipline and it takes a lot for a young kid to develop to stardom,” Garba, two-time winning captain with El-Kanemi of the glamorous Nigeria’s National Cup now known as President’s Federation Cup, told NationSport. “But then it’s destiny that brought me close to the young generation and God Almighty has also blessed me with the ability to scout for good players.
“What makes me happy as a coach is to see players pass through me and rise to stardom to become useful to the society, their family and themselves and, importantly, I always feel great when my team finishes on the podium.”
Indeed, Garba can be proud of producing generations of players for the senior national team with the likes of Sunday Mba, the 2013 AFCON hero, as well as a whole collection of players still rooming with the Super Eagles; such as Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi, amongst former Eaglets that shone with pride in 2013.
His team of 2013 is arguably the best in the history of the global cadet competition after his wards cleared almost all the individual prizes on offer as well as scoring the highest number of goals ever by any winning team in almost four-decade history of the competition.
“The greatest memories of winning Nigeria’s fourth FIFA U17 World Cup in 2013 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was breaking the goal scoring record in the history of the FIFA U17 World Cup, scoring 25 goals in seven matches and conceding only six goals,” Garba, who has been twice awarded Nigeria national honours as Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) for his remarkable successes with the Golden Eaglets, told NationSport in a file interview. “The team also won FIFA Fair Play Trophy while Kelechi Iheanacho got the Adidas Golden Ball as the most Valuable Player of the Tournament, apart from also winning the Silver Boot Award as the second best striker; and we also had Dele Alampasu who was awarded the Golden Gloves Award as the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
“Apart from all the feats, the team played total football giving room for movement with or without the ball and goals were being scored from all angles, that was a great time,” he affirmed.
Back to the present and specifically the recently concluded WAFU B U-17 Championship held in Accra, Ghana, where his team failed to win the precious gold medal apart from missing the cut to next year’s CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“One of the major challenges we faced (going to the WAFU B Championships in Accra) was lack of international exposure for some of the players,” a crest-fallen Garba told NationSports after the team braved the odds by beating hosts Ghana in the bronze medal-match on Tuesday.
“We had short period to teach some of the basics of general tactics, bonding the team together since they came from different academies and schools and we came into the tournament with my first choice goalkeeper keeping his first match for us in an international tournament.”
Incidentally, Garba, while celebrating the 10th anniversary of winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2013 last year, had alluded to near collapse of long period of camping for age grade teams, saying it has stunted the discovery of good talents for other levels of the national team, including the Super Eagles.
Nigeria has since failed to qualify for the past editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup between 2017 and 2023 bar the 2019 edition in Brazil where the Golden Eaglets faltered to deceive and crashed out by Netherlands in the Round of 16 following a 3-1 loss to The Netherlands.
“It is true that Since 2015, Nigeria is yet to win the FIFA U17 World Cup, but I believe with early and adequate preparation as well as good motivation with a sound and experienced technical crew, the country has the potential to win again,” Garba told NationSports last year. “The next U17 World Cup (2023 edition) is around the corner and Nigeria won’t be a part, we have to go back to the drawing board and look at the factors that hindered us from qualifying and most importantly the next U17 team must have to be assembled as soon as this year’s World Cup is being played so that the team can have ample time to play cohesively and dominate any opposition,” he added.
Yet, despite the country’s failure at the WAFU B U-17 Championships in Accra, Garba has applauded the leadership of the NFF for ensuring due diligence on the vexed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) issue which had hitherto brought shame to the Golden Eaglets in the past.
“The NFF did extremely well because about 14 of our players were on Grade Level 1 from the MRI test and we had others in Grade Levels 2, 3 and only two players were on Grade Level 4 and we had the youngest team at the tournament in Ghana,” he said with assured smiles.
“Of course, the standard of the tournament was very high and competitive and all the countries presented good teams. The method of qualification is good for the tournament and good for the development of the game,” he noted even as he called on authorities to look at better incentives for age grade teams as it used to be in the past.
He stated emphatically: “Match bonuses are a sort of motivation for players and the young ones deserve it more than the senior players.
“If you look at most footballers, they all come from poor family background and their parents depend on them to solve their domestic issues and most importantly some of them need it to pay school fees and take care of basic needs.
“Apart from the fact that wearing the national colours and representing one’s country and getting the opportunity is part of motivation, the bonus is extra motivation for the U17 and U20.”
Since cadet competitions such as the U-17 are regarded as a step to international breakthrough, Garba said his wards to Accra would certainly come through at higher levels if they keep their heads and focus.
“Despite the short period to prepare for a major tournament such as the WAFU B U-17 Championships, the team did well and gave its best on and off the pitch; they are worthy ambassadors of Nigeria,” Garba continued. “Almost half of the team are likely going to make it to the next level should they work hard and be disciplined.”
So what next for Garba after his wards’ failed the proverbial Acid Test at the WAFU B U-17 Championships which had in the past consumed other coaches?
“No one born of a woman is sure of the next moment, not to talk of the future,” Garba, a devoted Muslim, told NationSports in his usual philosophical hue. “It’s Allah who determines everything and I pray he guides me to succeed in all my endeavours in life.”
Golden Eaglets outside chance to feature in the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and possibly FIFA U-17 World Cup final in Qatar still hangs in the balance based on the latest checks by NationSport.
The Golden Eaglets were beaten 1-0 by Les Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the semi-final match at the ongoing West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B U-17 Championship in Accra on Saturday.
Despite the semi-final loss, words are rife that the Eaglets may still qualify for the two competitions next year because of the recent expansion of the FIFA U-17 World Cup to a 48-team field and African continent has already been allotted 10 spots in the final, an increase of six more teams to represent Africa.
But facts have emerged on the sharing formula for the 10 slots ceded to CAF by the world football governing body which had ratified the slots per the six FIFA Confederations at its recent FIFA Council meeting on the margins of 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.
FIFA adopted several key decisions, particularly in relation to the future of football and unanimously approved the increase in the number of teams in the FIFA U-17 World Cup final from 24 to 48.
Subsequently, the slot allocation was confirmed as follows: AFC: 9; CAF: 10; Concacaf: 8; CONMEBOL: 7; OFC: 3; UEFA 11, for FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar 2025-2029.
But Nigeria may still not qualify for AFCON and World Cup because the West African sub-region which has two Zones (WAFU-A and WAFU-B) comprising 16 countries is entitled to produce four representatives while UNAF (5-North Africa),
UNIFFAC (8-Central Africa), CECAFA (12-East Africa) and COSAFA (14-Southern Africa) will produce the remaining teams to represent CAF in the global tournament from next year.
It was also gathered that WAFU- B with seven countries namely Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire , Niger, Nigeria and Togo cannot produce three or four AFCON qualifiers at the expense of WAFU-A with nine countries of Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
As a result, it’s most likely only the finalists of the WAFU-B tournament will advance to the 2025 U-17 AFCON, which in turn serves as the qualifying competition for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Golden Eaglets coach Manu Garba has lamented the poor preparation of his team after they scraped a goalless draw with Burkina Faso in their opening U17 AFCON qualifying match.
“The match against Burkina Faso was only the first international game by the team,” lamented Manu.
“Burkina Faso were better prepared than us. They went on a playing tour, just like Ghana.
Nine players have been selected from Nationwide League One clubs and academies by coach Manu Garba and his assistants for the on-going WAFU B U17 tournament in Accra, Ghana , demonstrating the league’s role as the focal point of football development in Nigeria and a scouting hub for young and talented players.
The selected players are Simon Cletus Karshe (Mavlon Football Club), John Ogwuche (Hypebuzz Football Club), Edward Ochigbo (Sporting Lagos Academy), Chinedu Dominic Levi (N-youth Sports Academy), Imrana Mohammad (Mavlon Football Club), Rapha Adams (Hypebuzz Football Club), and the Beyond Limits Football Academy trio of Abdulmuiz Oladimeji, Oreoluwa Agbenla, and Daniel Vowero.
Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the NLO, Olushola Ogunnowo said the feat is in fulfilment of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President’s statement during the NLO Congress in January.
He said: “Nigeria is blessed with raw football talents, unearthing these football talents was not a day’s job but with consistent planning and a blueprint design to restructure our grassroot football to meet with the developing trends in Europe and other top football nations.
“Over the years, the NLO has provided opportunities for talented players of all ages and abilities to play the game in an enjoyable, safe environment, despite limited funds.
“Football academies play an essential role in increasing participation and providing players with a quality footballing experience.
“As I have always stressed to the media, the NLO clubs and academies are the cornerstone of our communities and also the bedrock of our football development, with the transition of these talents to the cadet national teams- Golden Eaglets (U17) to the Flying Eagles (U20) and our Nigeria Premier Football League clubs.
“The more reason the Secretariat initiated the NLO Youth League which has an age cap of U-15-19, which is targeted at talented players In our secondary schools.
“Also, Improving coaching at all levels, with Coach Education has played an important role in this feat. The NLO Grassroot Football Coaching Clinics is evidence of the nation’s third-tier league aims at developing better coaches and, ultimately, better players and the overall quality of the game – whether at the grassroots or elite level.
“The Chairman of the NLO, former Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, His Excellency Silas Agara has expressed his delight with the news and has charged the Secretariat not to rest in oars to ensure more players from the NLO graduate to the various national teams and even the Super Eagles.”
Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye is delighted that four players scouted at the maiden NPFL U-17 Youth League made it to the final list of the Nigeria U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets.
The Golden Eaglets are in Ghana for the West African Football Union (WAFU) B qualifying tournament for the Africa U-17 Nations Cup.
Remo Stars trio of Oreoluwa Agbenla, Muiz Oladimeji and Daniel Arierhi, as well as Rangers goalkeeper Chinedu Chike made the list of players picked by coach Manu Garba
“We have obviously met one of the cardinal objectives of initiating the Youth League for our Clubs in the NPFL, which is to assist the Football Federation and their Coaches scout for talents.
“The Youth League is a requirement of the NFF Club Licensing Regulations and the benefits are many, including providing the clubs a steady and ready replacement of ageing players and those who move away to other clubs,” explained Elegbeleye.
He further noted that football, like any other business, must have a steady line of stock replenishment or it will lose the market.
“We, in the NPFL Board feel a sense of satisfaction at the outcome of the NPFL Youth League in its very first edition and we look forward to not only seeing the young lads dominate regular club football but also make it to the U-20 and Olympic teams for Nigeria,” noted Elegbeleye, who also is the 2nd Vice President of the NFF.
He then urged the four players to be good ambassadors of the NPFL U17 Youth League by playing very well to contribute to Nigeria’s qualification for the CAF Cadet Championship and ultimately, the FIFA U-17 Finals.
Pastor Emeka Inyama, a former NFF Executive Committee member and immediate past Chairman of Abia Warriors, was the Head of the Organising Committee of the NPFL Youth League which held in Benin, Edo State. Rivers United emerged the champions.
Defending champions, Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will face an uphill task in their title defence having been grouped with Burkina Faso, Togo and Niger Republic at the WAFU B U-17 Championship slated for Ghana.
Nigeria Under 17 side with Manu Garba in charge will trade tackles with Burkina Faso in their opening fixture on May 16th at the University Stadium in Accra.
The Eaglets defeated same opponent 2-1 in the final of the competition two years ago in Ghana but the West African side had their pound of flesh at the Africa Cup U-17 Cup of Nations in Algeria beating the Nigerian side 2-1 in the quarter final.
These are not the best of times for the Golden Eaglets after they lost their first test game ahead of the WAFU B U17 AFCON amid the failure of an age test by more than half of the first team.
Morac Academy from Delta State handed the coach Manu Garba-led team their first loss since they opened training camp in Abuja last month.
The academy fired two goals in the second half to record a 2-0 victory over what apparently was an weakened side caused the MRI disqualification.
