As reactions continue trailing another inability of Nigeria’s cadet national team, Golden eaglets to qualify for the African U17 Cup of Nations, a grassroots coach based in Nasarawa State, Rabo Bala Okoye has provided several suggestions on the way forward.
Sports247 reports that Coach Bala provided his suggestions in a long article he shared across social media after the Eaglets drew 1-1 with Cote d’Ivoire in their second match at the West African Football Union (WAFU)-B U17 Championship in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Having lost their first game 2-1 to Niger Republic, Saturday’s draw proved insufficient for a semi-final ticket, thereby knocking Nigeria out of the U17 AFCON for the third straight edition and Coach Bala has tabled several suggestions on the way forward.
Prominent among his suggestions are longer camping periods for the Eaglets, an end to open screening, closer look at school football, introduction of geo-political scouting and better welfare for the players.
Bala, who is also the sporting director at Si14 FC of Keffi, wrote in part: “Nigeria without the Golden Eaglets is like Brazil without Samba. We are the most successful team in FIFA U-17 World Cup history with five titles (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, 2015).
“We produced Kanu Nwankwo, Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, Taiwo Awoniyi. But, in the last 10 years, we have failed to qualify for back-to-back U-17 World Cups and even failed at WAFU level.
“Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Senegal are now dominating us. The team is dead but reviving the Golden Eaglets is not about prayer or luck. It is about returning to a SYSTEM. Here is the comprehensive blueprint:
1. GO BACK TO TRUE AGE-GRADE FOOTBALL, END AGE CHEATING FOREVER. NFF must enforce MRI test at U-13 and U-15 level, not just U-17. Build a national database abd create a National Youth Player Passport from primary school.
2. RESTART THE NATIONAL U-13 AND U-15 STRUCTURE. The Golden Eaglets of 2013 and 2015 did not start at U-17. They started as U-13 in 2010 under Coach Emmanuel Amuneke. Revive the NFF National U-13/U-15 Championship in all 36 states + FCT and State FAs must run school competitions.
3. APPOINT DEVELOPMENT COACHES, NOT POLITICAL COACHES. The Eaglets job is not for ex-internationals looking for CV. It’s for teachers. Appoint coaches with CAF B License minimum AND a proven record in youth football. Give them a 4-year contract. Pay them well and on time.
4. CREATE A PERMANENT NATIONAL YOUTH LEAGUE. NFF and NPFL must launch the NPFL U-17 Youth League properly. Every NPFL club MUST have U-15 and U-17 teams.
5. STOP OPEN SCREENING MADNESS. Every time we want a team, we invite 5,000 boys to FIFA Goal Project, Abuja. Agents bring 200 boys each. The best boys from Sokoto, Maiduguri, and Calabar who have no agent never get seen.
Decentralize scouting to 6 zones: North West (Kaduna), North East (Bauchi), North Central (Abuja), South West (Lagos), South East (Enugu), South South (Port Harcourt). NFF Technical Department must have chief scouts in each zone who submit monthly reports.
6. PARTNER WITH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES. NFF sees academies as enemies. That’s wrong. 90% of our talent is in academies now, not in state teams. Sign Technical Partnerships with top 20 academies to develop players using modern methods. Provide them with coaching education and MRI support.
7. FUNDING AND WELFARE. Golden Eaglets players sleep on floor in camp, eat poor food, and are owed allowances. Their parents then push them to agents who sell them to obscure clubs in Malta and Moldova for quick money. Give them proper camp at a good hotel, good nutritionist, physiotherapist, video analyst, and psychologist.
8. LONG-TERM PATHWAY TO SUPER EAGLES. Revival is useless if Eaglets players disappear. Of the 2015 set, only Osimhen and Chukwueze made it big. The rest vanished because there was no pathway. Create a clear ladder: U-15 to U-17 to U-20 (Flying Eagles) to U-23 to Super Eagles. Don’t discard a whole team after one tournament.
CONCLUSION: We will not revive the Golden Eaglets by sacking one coach and appointing another. We will revive the Eaglets when we stop looking for ready-made 17-year-olds and start building 12-year-olds.
If the Technical Director and NFF board implement this 4-year plan, Nigeria will not just qualify for the U-17 World Cup again — we will win our 6th title and produce the next Osimhen.
