An imminent age purge in the Nigerian U-17 Golden Eaglets is threatening to hamper the country’s successful representation at this year’s edition of the U-17 World Youth Championships, billed to hold in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October.
Officials of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have recommended that players placed on Grade 5 by a recent MRI scan should be decamped rather than risking FIFA’s hammer at the championship.
FIFA accepts Grade 5 for the U-17 World Cup yet there are fears that some of the players currently on the grade could have grown past it by October when the tournament will be staged.
With the possibility that Nigeria’s MRI machine might be inferior to what would be used at UAE, NFF officials split the Grade 5 players to A and B, those in A holding a better chance of scaling the age test in Dubai.
“The final decision to do away with players on Grade 5 has thrown the Eaglets into more confusion as it means many more players will now have to be decamped,” an official, however, said.
“We don’t wish to take unnecessary risks and so this decision. It simply means the coaches have to draft capable replacements for the players to be affected by this.”
The draws for this year’s tournament will be held on August 26 in Abu Dhabi. Nigeria is one of Africa’s hopes of good participation at the final, having reached the final of the African U-17 tournament, losing only to Cote d’Ivoire on penalties
