Director General of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Bukola Olopade, has challenged the Golden Eaglets to restore Nigeria’s proud tradition at the U-17 level by conquering the WAFU-B Championship in Burkina Faso and beginning the journey back to the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Olopade delivered the message during a morale-boosting visit to the team’s final training session at the FIFA Goal Project, MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, before they departed for Ouagadougou on Tuesday.
Nigeria have not appeared at the FIFA U-17 World Cup since Brazil 2019, a striking absence for the competition’s record five-time champions.
“We have not qualified for the World Cup for a long time now, and the country is looking up to you to end that drought,” Olopade told the players. “You are Nigerians, and Nigerians are fighters. We no dey carry last.”
He added: “Go to Burkina Faso, win the WAFU B tournament, qualify for the AFCON and then secure our place at the World Cup.”
The Golden Eaglets, coached by Eboboritse Uwejamomere, will take a 25-man squad to Burkina Faso after an extensive Abuja camp that initially involved 62 players.
Nigeria have been drawn in Group B alongside Côte d’Ivoire and Niger Republic, with the top two teams progressing to the semi-finals. Reaching the final will secure qualification for the 2027 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Nigeria missed the last two editions of the U-17 AFCON, increasing the significance of this latest qualification campaign.
Olopade urged the youngsters to embrace the weight of the famous Golden Eaglets shirt rather than fear it.
“We are dreaming of winning the World Cup, and that dream starts with you,” he said. “You have the talent, you have the opportunity and you have the support of the entire country.”
Nigeria won the U-17 World Cup in 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015, with the age-grade pathway producing stars including Nwankwo Kanu, Kelechi Iheanacho and Victor Osimhen.
For Olopade, Burkina Faso is therefore about more than another youth tournament. It is an opportunity for a new generation of Golden Eaglets to reopen a road to the World Cup that Nigeria once dominated.
