As Nigerians continue to bask in the euphoria of the Golden Eaglets win of a record fourth U-17 World Cup title, Nigeria’s rising profile in the international football arena is set to receive a further boost when the Super Sand Eagles defend their title at the Copa Lagos 2013 Beach Soccer Tournament.
The Nigerian team has previously won the tournament with impressive performances against the likes of beach Soccer giants Brazil and Portugal.
The captain of the team, Isiaka Olawale, who plays for Dolphins in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) said they are motivated to win it for a third consecutive time.
“We plan to use Copa Lagos 2013 to compensate for missing out on the World Cup”, Olawale said.
“Senegal, who beat us 9-8 in the African qualifiers to the World Cup played in Morocco in August, will be in Lagos for the tournament and we want to show them that Nigeria is still the best Beach Soccer playing team in Africa,” he continued.
Olawale added that he is in touch with the players including Ibenegbu and Okemiri who have commenced personal training as they move to camp in preparation for the tournament.“We are all keeping in shape because we know that we have to defend Nigeria in December in Lagos,” he added.
The other countries that will contest Copa Lagos in 2013 are Lebanon, Senegal and first-timers Germany.
In response to his take on the quality of other competing teams for this year’s tournament Olawale added “We have played at two World Cups so we won’t be surprised by Germany. We played Lebanon at the final of Copa 2012 and they were tough because they were unknown but we know their strength and weaknesses and are confident we can beat them again.”
At the last Nations Cup in South Africa, the Super Eagles lifted the 28th edition of the cup with a 1-0 victory against Burkina Faso. Recently the Nigerian Under-17 national team made history in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates as the Golden Eaglets became the most decorated team in the history of the competition after defeating Mexico 3-0 to win the Cup for a record fourth time. Now it is the turn of the Super Sand Eagles to show that Nigeria footballers can dominate both on grass and on the sand.
Copa Lagos 2013 will be a fusion of the Beach Soccer matches followed by fashion shows and music concerts featuring live performances by some of Nigeria’s foremost artistes. The superlative event will take place on the beachfront of the Eko Atlantic City and will kick off on December 13 to end on December 15.
