Nigeria’s cadet national team, the Golden Eaglets’ coach, Eboboritse Uwejamomere, has admitted his squad disappointed their fans at home and abroad with a poor outing at the West African Football Union (WAFU)-B U17 Championship in Ouagadougou.
Sports247 reports that Uwejamomere spoke against the backdrop of his side’s inability to reach the competition’s semi-finals, which means they will not be at next year’s African U17 Cup of Nations and, by extension, the Cadet Mundial.
A 1-1 draw with Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday meant Uwejamomere’s side pulled just a point at the sub-regional championship in Burkina Faso’s capital, having earlier lost 2-1 to Niger Republic, who topped the group with four points.
With the Eaglets already doomed to miss the FIFA U17 World Cup for the fourth straight edition, many Nigerians are angry and calling for a major overhaul of the country’s age-grade sector, which Uwejamomere acknowledged is in order.
He then gave a deeply emotional and all-encompassing apology to Nigerians, while also begging for forgiveness, adding that he is equally disappointed as they are and shares in the nation’s current agony due to the Eaglets’ poor outing.
“For the fans back home, it’s a bitter feeling. A lot of them probably hate us right now, but this is normal, because they are proud Nigerians and they want us to win every game, every tournament.
“The only thing I can say to them is to forgive us because the disappointment they feel I’m also feeling. My players are also feeling the same disappointment,” Uwejamomere conceded.
