April 23, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has released a list of 26 players, chosen to represent the country at the 2023 Africa Under-17 Cup of Nations in Algeria.
Sixteen of the players were picked from football academies across Nigeria, while the remaining ten come from amateur clubs. The Golden Eaglets, five-time world champions, were pictured at the airport on Sunday, en route to Constantine, Algeria, for their final preparations ahead of the tournament.
The Eaglets had originally planned to complete their preparations in Germany, but were forced to change plans due to visa issues. They will now prepare in Constantine before taking on Morocco, Zambia, and South Africa in Group B. The team is coached by Nduka Ugbade, and they won the WAFU B U-17 Championship in June 2022, under his supervision.
Since then, the Eaglets have continued to display impressive form in their preparations for the upcoming tournament. Nigeria will begin their campaign on April 30th against Zambia at the Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui.
THEWILL recalls that the top four teams from the tournament will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year. The NFF and Ugbade are optimistic that the Eaglets have what it takes to win both the Africa Cup and qualify for the World Cup.
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.
