The national U-17 team is yet to swing to action despite the official announcement of a new technical crew because the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has not given it the go ahead to commence work. Chief coach of the Golden Eaglets, Manu Garba, said that the crew is ready to swing to action but cannot do so since the federation has not given it the nod. “The NFF has told the technical crew to wait for the green light before we start work. We have a lot of work to do and cannot wait to start work.”
Garba also stated that the technical crew has perfected plans to revamp youth football in Nigeria and that only young players within the age limit will be used to prosecute matches for the Golden Eaglets. “We have made plans to source for players from football academies all over the country. The moment we get the green light, we will start a screening exercise aimed at recruiting good and very talented players for the team.”
Another member of the technical crew, former junior international and ex-Super Eagles player, NdukaUgbade, said that his appointment is to help develop youth players for a smooth transition into the U-20 national team, the Flying Eagles. “I have been appointed so that I can use my years of experience in Nigerian football to develop the young players that abound all over the country so that there can be a smooth transition for them to the U-20 team. I expect the best amongst them to move on and do very well for the senior teams.”
The NFF recently appointed Manu Garba, Nduka Ugbade and Emeka Amadi as coaches of the Golden Eaglets. They are to serve as chief coach, assistant coach and goalkeeper trainer, respectively.
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