By: Gracious Akujobi Athletics Federation of Nigeria President and Publisher of SportsDay group of Newspapers, Solomon Ogba, has said the victory of the Golden Eaglets at the UAE U17 tournament underlines the potentials of the average Nigerian sportsman if given the latitude to excel, and makes the Super Eagls victory at SA 2013 very real.
Ogba, who was for eight years the Sports Commissioner in Nigeria’s number one sports state, Delta, was reacting to the Eaglets victory at the World U17 championship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He revealed that the collective weight of the NSC Chairman, Bolaji Abdulahi, NSC Director General, Gbenga Elegbeleye and the NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, has brought in a new season of unity in the administration of sports in the country.
“My advise to them is that they must remain focused, united and ready to push Nigerian sports to the highest level because from what I have seen they have what it takes to get to the very height of sports in the country and globally.
Also, Super Eagles boss, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, has heaped praises on players and members of the technical crew for making the nation proud at the just ended U17 World Cup championship in the United Arab Emirates.
“I’m particularly proud of the coaching crew, because they again showed that some of the best coaches are from Africa. I hail the Minister and the NFF for providing an absolute conduscive environment for the team and we hope it will continue to be like that all the times.
Keshi then spoke on how he thinks members of the U17 national team can get into the Super Eagles, which he heads. To him, there should be a gradual push for the boys towards the main national team, even as he insists that age has got nothing to do with the players getting into the Super Eagles.
“I will want the players to take the natural route of maturity, play for the Flying Eagles, then maybe the U23 and then we can start looking at them. During that period we may find one or two of them that can make impact in the national team and we will not hesitate to invite them”, he said.
“Once again I say kudos to Coach Manu Garba, Emmanuel Amunike, Nduka Ugbade and Emeka Amadi, they have really helped to stenghten the crendentials of the Nigerian coaches and made us proud not only as a nation but as a group and also in the profession, may such things continue to happen to Nigerian football.”
In the same vein, Chairman of Taraba FC, Tijani Babangida has hailed the technical crew of the Golden Eaglets led by Garba Manu who conquered the world by winning the U-17 world cup in United Arab Emirates.
Babangida,a former Super Eagles winger noted that the coaches have a sound technical depth which helped them fish out budding talents,a feat that has re-echoed the fact that talents abound in Nigeria.
“I am happy for Manu Garba, Emmauel Amunike,Uduka Ugbade and Emeka Amadi.They have really shown that they are now ready for the big coaching job. It is not that easy to select a team that can go all the way to win the world cup. I say kudos to them.
“We at Taraba FC congratulate the entire team for their performance at the Championship. It greatly shows that there are indeed football talents in the country.
“I am very impressed that none of the players play for any club and that they are from football academies. That is our philosophy in Taraba FC as we are really committed to the promotion of our club academy where young talents can be discovered for the main team,” Babangida stated.
