Nigeria’s cadet national team, Golden Eaglets are bound to have thousands of their compatriots at the stadium to support them against Niger Republic on Wednesday in Ouagadougou, Sports247 gathered.
This projection was provided by Nigeria’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, His Excellency Syndoph Paebi Endoni, who assured the Eaglets of teeming support from Nigerians in the stands during all their matches at this year’s West African Football Union (WAFU)-B U17 Championship.
Ambassador Endoni stated this while giving the Eaglets an official welcome to Ouagadougou, where he also pointed out that the players are representing not only Nigeria as a country but the nation’s young population and future leaders.
He referred to the Eaglets as a squad that plays a social mobilisation role of taking teenagers away from crime, hence his verdict that the lads need total support from all Nigerians for them to succeed at the ongoing championship.
While disclosing that he was a former basketball player and founder of Royal Hoopers BC in Port Harcourt (now Rivers Hoopers), Endoni urged the Eaglets to seize the opportunity they have to represent Nigeria with pride at the sub-regional championship.
Endoni declared, “You have come here to represent Nigeria. Therefore, I charge you to fly Nigeria’s flag higher and higher. Win for us. Win for the millions of football-loving Nigerians all over the world. We are a blessed country.
“We are united, and we are a very strong nation. We must get it right from the scratch, using these young footballers as good examples. Nigeria will continue to be strong when we encourage these young ones to take their minds off criminality.
“Football is key in that regard, and I want to assure you that Nigerians here will be at the stadium to support the team. We have thousands of Nigerians in this country. The Nigerian community will give the team huge support in all its matches in the championship.”
Sports247 gathered further that the Eaglets will also play Cote d’Ivoire in Group B of the championship that began on Saturday, with eyes on a ticket to the next African U17 Cup of Nations, which will serve as qualifiers for the Cadet Mundial.
Although Nigeris is five-time record winner of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the Eaglets did not qualify for the last two editions of the Cadet Mundial and the current squad will be all out to right all the wrongs, starting against Niger Republic in midweek.
