The Nigerian junior national team is not leaving anything to chance, even as they intensify preparations for the 2024 WAFU B U-17 tournament in Ghana.
Towards achieving their goal of winning the tournament, the Nigeria U-17 Head Coach, Musa Garba has insisted that only players within the age bracket will feature for the team. This is even as the Coach confirmed that some players failed the Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI, test in camp.
The Golden Eaglets are preparing for the 2024 WAFU B U-17 tournament coming on in Ghana.
With the date for the tournament fast approaching, Garba is facing challenges of selecting his squad. The invited squad for the team has been drastically plummeted. This was after the MRI tests saw the initial 54 invited players drastically cut.
“Let me clear the air on this matter. The genuine U-17 players, according to their official document made available to the NFF and the MRI tests conducted by the football body, are still in the camp preparing for the WAFU B U-17 tournament.
“When the camp opened last month, the very sincere football academies had to withdraw their players. This is because the MRI tests they conducted showed that their players were on Grade 5. These players had to leave the camp immediately,” he told nff.com.
“Those (academies) who were not sincere and thought they could find a way through, have been exposed. This came after the NFF conducted its own MRI a few days ago. It was found that the results earlier presented by their players before entering the camp did not tally with NFF requirements.”
The Head Coach added: “The NFF insists on players whose results are between Grades 1 and 4. Players on Grade 5 have been asked to leave the camp.”
Recall that in the past, Nigeria has suffered sanction for fielding overaged players for youth tournaments.
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