The eagerly anticipated revival of Nigeria’s cadet national team, Golden Eaglets under the tinkering of highly acclaimed England-trained tactician, Eboboritse Uwejamomere has failed to materialise, as the gaffer from Delta State could not take them into the semi-finals of this year’s West African Football Union (WAFU)-B U17 Championship.
Sports247 reports that a 1-1 draw with Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday was not enough to lift Uwejamomere’s side out of the quagmire they fell into after losing their first match of the competition 2-1 to Niger Republic, who then drew 1-1 with Côte d’Ivoire in their second game.
With Niger Republic already through to the semi-finals on four points, Nigeria needed to defeat Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday, in order to pick the group’s second slot, but dark clouds appeared over the Eaglets’ prospects when their rivals scored first during the decisive game in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The Eaglets did manage to equalise in the 80th minute, but it wasn’t enough to keep their WAFU-B U17 campaign alive, as the 1-1 draw meant Uwejamomere’s squad placed third with a single point, while the Ivorians moved ahead on two.
Consequently, Uwejamomere’s side has been eliminated from this championship and will not move on to the African U17 Cup of Nations, while Niger Republic and Cote d’Ivoire progress to the semi-finals, still with hope of reaching the African finals.
On the other hand, Nigeria will now miss three straight editions of the U17 AFCON and four consecutive FIFA U17 World Cup tournaments, thereby keeping the Eaglets stuck on past glory at this level, while the avowed credentials that Uwejamomere flaunted as a youth football expert have been thrown to the trash bin.
It also puts a dent on an otherwise promising flight for the gaffer, whose full name is Eboboritse Omasanjuwa Uwejamomere, as he has in the past been data analyst for the Super Eagles and Super Falcons as well as head of academy at Sporting Lagos FC.
He has also worked as an academy coach at Millwall, Gillingham and Nottingham Forest in England as well as head coach/technical adviser at FC Nilayo and Stormers SC, backed by a UEFA A Licence, which he got in May 2024, plus an MSc in Advanced Performance Football Coaching from University of South Wales (2022–2024).
Unfortunately, an early sign of a setback for him came when he was barred from sitting on his team’s bench at the WAFU-B Championship because he does not have a CAF A-License, which meant he could not communicate directly with his players during the thick of action at Stade du 4-Août in Ouagadougou.
