Why 2015 Would Be A Landmark Year for Nigeria Football | Get Ready for All the Excitements!

2015 would be a landmark year for Nigeria football. I am futuristic in my expression because the year has just begun; we are still in January. May be, you can take me up on this later in the year.

I trust Emmanuel Amunike would be able to replicate what Manu Garba did in 2013. He already has put in so much work to see to it that he recruits as well as train another set of young enterprising players. It would really be nice if Golden Eaglets win Fifa U16 world cup again, back to back, this year.  Well, that won’t be a major landmark anyway; Nigeria had previously won the tournament four times – 1985, 1993, 2007 and 2013.

 But all eyes are on this special team handled by Manu Garba and Nduka Ugbade. We have seen how they transited effectively into the U20 national team after they won Fifa U16 World cup in 2013. We have also seen how they’ve made progress since then, especially their performance in the ongoing Super 6. The U20 teams has practically beaten the Glo Premier league champions, Kano Pillars as well as the league 1^st runner up and federations cup winners, Enyimba. It isn’t looking like any of the teams in Super 6 could contain the Flying Eagles, not even the U23 Dream Team.

I have so must confidence that the current Flying Eagles team would go all the way to win Fifa under 20 World Youth Championship – that would be a landmark achievement because, Nigeria would be winning for the first time.

The major landmark however, would be when most of the players transit again into U23 National team and by 2016, they the Olympics. A new Super Eagles would ‘born’ and golden eras begin for Nigeria football.

Equally, the women’s football would experience transitions too. Already, Super Falcons have suddenly developed un-usual confidence since the Falconets almost clinched FIFA U20 women’s world cup in 2014; taken the Germany team to extra time but only lost at the dying minute by one goal against.

Edwin Okon’s women now believe they can pull a surprise and win Fifa Women’s world cup in Canada this year. It sounds like a pipe dream, a mere wishful thinking, but the players are determined to make it happen – that would be yet another landmark you can expect this year.

I am really hoping that both Flying Eagles and Super Falcons would stun the world this year and players like Kelechi Iheanacho and Asisat Oshoala get nominations at 2015 Ballon d’Or  and possibly win Awards like Pulsca or young player of the year. Yet, this would be another landmark for us in Nigeria, to see our players nominated among the world’s best.   

Something tells me that both Kano Pillars and Enyimba would do well in this year’s Caf Champions’ league. We would wait and see how both tesms progresses in the competition. Perhaps, both teams would yet pull another surprise and become the ‘icing of the cake’ in our excitements and celebrations of our landmarks this year.