The Confederation of African Football (CAF), on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, confirmed that all 20 Golden Eaglets players presented by Nigeria for the WAFU B U17 Championship starting in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday had passed the MRI examination.
The confirmed eligibility of all the 20 players is a testament that the tests conducted on the players by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) before the team’s departure were perfect, and so, Nigeria will have a full squad to defend the title she won last year in Ghana.
An excited Golden Eaglets head coach Manu Garba said of the MRI test result: “We are happy about the results. Having the whole squad prosecute the tournament somewhat puts our minds at rest.
He added on their preparation for the tournament: “The players have been responding to training. The weather is similar to what we experienced in Abuja before our departure. Our primary objective is to get one of the two tickets from here to the Africa U17 Cup of Nations. We will focus on the matches one at a time. For now, we are focused on our opening game against Burkina Faso on Thursday.”
The Eaglets begin their defence of the title when they confront their counterparts from Burkina Faso at the University Stadium on Thursday, 16 May with kickoff set for 3 pm Ghana time (4 pm Nigeria time), before matches against Niger Republic on Sunday, 19 May (6 pm Ghana, 7 pm Nigeria) and Togo on Wednesday, 22 May (4 pm Ghana, 5 pm Nigeria).
The match against the Niger Republic will also hold at the University Stadium, while the clash with Togo will take place at the Accra Sports Stadium.
READ MORE: Nigeria U-17 sharpen claws for WAFU B opener against Burkina Faso
