As Nigeria’s cadet national team, Golden Eaglets approach another precipice and a cliffhanger that might see them fail to reach the next Afrucan U17 Cup of Nations, I hereby humbly chip in a few solutions to halt the slump that our team continues facing in recent years.
After failing to qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup since 2019 – despite being record five-time winners of the same championship – it is nothing short of a disaster that the Eaglets have missed the last three editions of the global cadet showpiece!
Sadly, the current squad’s 2-1 loss to Niger Republic in their first game of this year’s West African Football Union (WAFU)-B U17 Championship not only smirks of an embarrassment for Nigeria (apologies to Brightville College of Ibadan proprietor, Dr Isaac Friday Ogada), it also spells doom for the next generation of Nigerian footballers.
It simply means we will not have the pleasure of fresh talents stepping up to be counted in the next ten years the same way some of our current stars found their leverage after winning the Cadet Mundial at UAE 2013 (Taiwo Awoniyi and Kelechi Iheanacho) as well as Chile 2015 (Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze).
Stories are already going round that the Eaglets lost to Niger Republic because their first choice goalkeeper failed the MRI scan and their coach, Eboboritse Uwejamomere could not sit on the team’s bench because he does not have a CAF A-License. In as much as those are massive setbacks that can totally destabilise any team, I opt instead to look into the future, rather than cry over spilt milk.
With that caveat in mind, I hereby humbly state 11 ways out of the quagmire, based on my over 30 years of following, analysing, reporting, promoting, managing and organising youth football – which began in 1994, when I had the privilege of starting Nigeria’s first ever dedicated page on grassroots activities as a rookie staff writer at Complete Football magazine.
1. Proper recognition of secondary schools as the bedrock of football development.
2. Establishment of a specific department of school football in all state associations across the country.
3. Appointment of well versed journalists, organisers, agents; coaches, corporate moguls and public personalities into standing committees for school football at state and federal levels
4. Registration and affiliation of youth sports agencies, organisations and bodies with each state football association.
5. Organisation of annual state wide youth league competitions among champions of each affiliated organisation from which talents will be spotted
6. Winners of state competitions to play a national championship from which more talents will be selected
7. Organisation of state wide football championship among secondary schools from which talents will be spotted
8. State schools champions to play national competition from which more talents will be spotted
9. Talents spotted from national competition of organisations and that of secondary schools to be camped quarterly in Abuja and go through regular development drills
10. No player to be accepted into that camp through recommendations of any scout, media personality or administrator who is not among the specific committee members assigned that task
11. The camped players to engage in regular build-up international friendlies and private youth competitions that will give them enough exposure ahead of regional, continental and global outings.
I believe if all these 11 steps are taken seriously, effectively and painstakingly, our dear Golden Eaglets will surely rise again.
