The Golden Eaglets on Wednesday began open screening in preparation for their U-17 WAFU tournament in Ghana under the supervision of new coach, Nduka Ugbade.
As many as 100 young players tried their luck in Wednesday morning’s session and many more appearing each day.
Training took place at the FIFA Goal Project in Package B of the MKO Abiola National Stadium in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja.The one week long screening exercise will end on Wednesday May 4, then the next phase of close preparation.
The WAFU tournament which serves as the qualifiers for 2023 U-17 AFCON in Algeria, will take place in Cape Coast, Ghana, from June 11 to 24 2022. And only the two finalists of the tournament will qualify for the U-17 AFCON.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets are Group A alongside hosts Ghana and Togo. Group B has Cote d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic.
The youngsters hope to follow in the footsteps of former Golden Eaglets stars such as Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Osimhen and Kelechi Iheanacho who used the U-17s as a launch pad to fame and fortune in Europe.
Ugbade himself made history when he captained the country to win the inaugural U-17 world championship in China back in 1985, a whopping 37-years ago.
The Golden Eaglets who are five-time world champions will be in Ghana in June for a sub-regional tournament that will serve as qualifiers for the 2023 U-17 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) which will be hosted by Algeria.