BEVERLY HILLS, January 08, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Under-17 national football team, the Golden Eaglets, have been charged to display a more robust winning mentality against their next opponent than they have shown so far. Making this charge to the Eaglets ahead of their make or mar tie against the Black Starlets of Ghana was Amaju Melvin Pinnick, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The NFF President admonished the youngsters to believe in themselves and their abilities and to go all out for victory. Pinnick put this to them in person when he visited the team’s camp at the Hotel Novella Star in Lome, Togo. There, he urged the players to stay focused in the task of representing Nigeria proudly at the West African Football Union (WAFU B) competition.
Addressing them in the presence of their handlers, the President said: “Nigerians don’t want to know about tactics, just go, play and win the game. The mentality of Nigerians is winning, they don’t care how you win, just win. Winning gives Nigerians a lot of joy.
“So, I just want to crave your indulgence to represent Nigeria well. I’m happy that I can see all the players in this U-17 team, I can see that we have the youngest team in this tournament, which of course, I’m very proud of.
“It is a developmental football af this level. It does not mean that we do not want to win. Nigerians want you to win so that you will be celebrated. We want you to be celebrated, it is very important that we must win.”
He emphasised the need for hard work:
“Just work hard and ensure we beat Ghana. The attitude we always display is that we can do it. That is the spirit under my leadership in the Nigeria Football Federation and that is what we expect from you.
“Your coach will tell you the technical and tactical way to achieve winning, but what I will tell you is that you are Nigerians and for you to be a Nigerian, you must be positively rugged to achieve your dream,” he said.
THEWILL recalls that the Eaglets lost their first match by a lone goal to the dominant Junior Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire after an uninspiring performance. To stand any chance of qualifying, they will need to convincingly defeat the Black Starlets, from Nigeria’s arch-rivals Ghana, in their final group game.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
