Sadi confident Ugbade’s Eaglets will deliver

Former international, Dahiru Sadi, has expressed confidence in the ability of Coach Nduka Ugbade to win the ongoing 2022 WAFU B-17 Championship in Ghana and also excel at the 2023 African U-17 Nations Cup.

The Golden Eaglets on Tuesday followed in the footstep of the U-21 team by qualifying for the final of the Africa U-17 Nations Cup. The team beat Cote d’Ivoire 3-1 in the semifinal of the WAFU B U-17 Championship, which gives the two finalists tickets to the 2023 Africa U-17 Nations Cup.

Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Sadi, who is a member of the NFF technical committee, said he had always known that football academies in the country are the best thing to happen to the country’s football, adding that most of the players in the U-17 team in Ghana were from the several youth academies picked across the country.

“I have always said that the development of our football from the grassroots is the best thing to happen to us. With Ugbade as the head coach of the team, I don’t have any doubt about his ability to give us a good result.

“He is a seasoned coach, a very super coach for that matter. He is someone that can take us to the Promised Land. I do not have any doubt about him in terms of achieving the set goal of the age-grade competition.

“When we were shortlisting coaches for the U-17 national team, there was this argument on whether we can trust him. We eventually settled for him because he had been there before and had won titles with the Golden Eagles as an assistant coach,” he said.

Sadi, who is a former Super Eagles midfield maestro, added, “This is just the beginning of good tidings to come after we failed to qualify for the African youths championship in recent past. I see more of this qualification coming to Nigeria now.

“Currently, there is a blueprint the NFF technical department is working on. It is something that can help the country achieves great things in the nearest future. It is not just the U-17 national team, it begins with clubs in the country having academies that will form the various clubs’ team B.

“The essence of having a team B is so that at least three players can form the clubs’ mainstream the following season of the league. We are not talking about team B players who are in their 30s but in their teenage years.

“I believe the chairman our technical committee, Ahmed Yusuf Fresh is seriously working on that. I believe Nigerians will see more of these successes at the cadet level coming. But this will not only be in the national teams, but also at various academies,” he stated.