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Eaglets On The Move Again, As African U-17 Championship Begins

By ALEX MONYE
13 February 2015   |   7:42 pm
A NEW generation of African youngsters will gather in Niger Republic from Sunday to show the what the future promises for the continent’s football. It is the African Under-17 Championship, which will feature cadet teams from eight countries from across the continent.     Interestingly, five of the teams are from West Africa, two from Southern…

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A NEW generation of African youngsters will gather in Niger Republic from Sunday to show the what the future promises for the continent’s football. It is the African Under-17 Championship, which will feature cadet teams from eight countries from across the continent. 

   Interestingly, five of the teams are from West Africa, two from Southern Africa, while Central Africa has one representative. There is no team from either the North Africa or East Africa, which shows the strength of the regions in youth football.

  Nigeria’s representatives, Golden Eaglets, who were the runners up in the last edition, will kick off hostilities Sunday when they tackle hosts, Niger Republic, in the opening game of the championship. 

  The Nigerian lads were the subjects of controversy recently following the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to transport them to Niamey by road through the ‘dangerous’ route often terrorized by the dreaded Boko Haram sect. But the team have shrugged off such worries to concentrate on the task of emulating their illustrious predecessors, who carved their names in gold in the championship.

  To ensure that his wards do not disappoint Nigerians football fans, who have come to regard them as sure candidates for success in every competition, after the draws last year, Amuneke, a former African Footballer of the Year, took his team through a very rigorous preparatory stage, which involved many friendly games against both local and foreign oppositions. 

  On the eve of their departure for Niamey, Amuneke told reporters that he would not look down on any team, stressing that he had worked on his wards to ensure they take every game seriously at the championship.

  “I have taken a close look at the teams in the championship and I think we have a strong pool of the eight best teams from the continent. Most of the teams are from West Africa, which is a very strong zone at age grade competitions, and it is interesting that there is no team from North Africa, whereas we had Morocco and Tunisia as semifinalists in 2013,” said Amuneke.

  The Eaglets, who are drawn in group A along side Niger Republic, Guinea and Zambia, on paper look good to win the African Championship, but the complexity in Age grade competitions in Africa does not guarantee any team success until the final ball is kicked. 

   As world champions, the Golden Eaglets have a lot off challenges to face in Niamey. One of such challenges is the fact that all the participating nations would be fighting hard to beat the team to break any myth of invincibility about the Eaglets. The other consideration is that all the teams want to qualify for the World Cup, which is reserved for only the semifinalists. This means that no team will go into any game against Nigeria with kid gloves knowing what they stand to lose if beaten by the world champions.

  Drawn against the host nation in the opening encounter tomorrow, the Eaglets would face what could be their biggest task against their opponents and the 12th man, which is the massive home support guaranteed for the host team.

 Therefore, Amuneke and his technical crew must work on the psychology of the boys, some of who are participating in their first major championship outside the country, to ensure they are not intimidated by events outside the football pitch.

   Amuneke, who was in the technical crew that won the world championship in United Arab Emirates last year, has declared that his number one mission in Niger Republic is to pick the U-17 World Cup ticket and then win the African championship. 

  Speaking with The Guardian before the Eaglets departed for Niger Republic on Thursday, Amuneke said, “Securing the Under-17 World Cup finals ticket will come first before the talk of going for the African title can surface.

  “I think it is a fair grouping not minding the fact that we are going to face the host country, Niger Republic, in the opening game. We are not going to underrate any of the teams and as I said before the draw, our sole objective in Niger Republic is to qualify for the World Cup and after that, we can begin to talk about other things.

  “We are aware of the task ahead of us and what happened between the Golden Eaglets and Niger the last time is immaterial now.”

  Amuneke acknowledged the strengths of Guinea and Zambia, saying they would pose huge threats to his team’s ambition. “Both Zambia and Guinea showed they are a strong side during the qualifiers, so we are going to take all our matches seriously,” he said.

    Notwithstanding Amuneke’s modesty, most pundits have predicted that the Eaglets will come out victorious owing to the team’s performance in the run up to the cadet tournament.

   Speaking ahead of the opening game, former Golden Eaglets Coach, Alphonsus Dike, says the team has all it takes to fly in Niger. He hinged his optimism on the quality of the players, who, he said, can individually and collectively turn things around positively at the biennial football championship.

   He added: “The Golden Eagles have a bright chance at the Africa Under-17 Championship in Niger Republic. They’ve quality coaches and players. I think they had decent preparations so I see them excelling at the championship.

  “I’m tipping the side for the coveted trophy and to represent Africa at the World Cup as champions. I don’t see the hosts, Niger Republic, troubling them in the first match of the championship on Sunday.

  “However, they must avoid any form of complacency and take the opponents seriously.

  “Zambia appear to be the only opponent that will pose a hard nut to crack; they’re athletic, physical, skillful and strong but I know Eaglets have the players to undo the East Africans no matter how tough they come.” 

  The winners and runners-up of the eight-team two groups championship will qualify automatically to represent the continent at the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile billed to be held between October 17 and November 8, 2015.

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