Why NFF is sending U-17 boys to Korea Republic, by Sanusi

The Nigeria Football Federation has explained why it decided that the U-17 National Team, Golden Eaglets, participate in the forthcoming 2016 U-19 Suwon Continental Cup tournament.

General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, told thenff.com on yesterday that the Federation is encouraged to sustain the team’s momentum and prepare it for bigger challenges as a result of the series of examinations done to ascertain the fact they are truly U-17 players.

“Apart from the tests conducted by the NFF, there was a medical team from CAF that subjected the players to another thorough examination. We are very sure the boys are U17 players and we must do everything to prepare them for bigger challenges, as they will constitute the next U20 team.

“They showed naivity and a level of innocence in the way they approached the match in Niger Republic, and that was partly why they were intimidated out of the African qualifying series.”

Sanusi assured that apart from the Suwon tournament, the NFF will keep the team busy in the coming year with a series of invitational tournaments and friendly matches, to get the players exposed and more matured for the qualifying series of 2019 Africa U20 Cup of Nations.

A team of 22 players and 10 officials of the Golden Eaglets will depart Nigeria on Monday, 7th November for Korea Republic, for the U-19 Suwon Continental Cup.

The Eaglets are scheduled to take on their counterparts from England on Wednesday, 9th November, play Iran the following day and tackle the host team on Saturday, 12th November.