The Golden Eaglets, Nigeria’s U-17 football team, failed to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which has caused controversy and criticism among stakeholders. The team lost their last group game to Burkina Faso and, as a result, could not reach the semis, which would have secured their place in the World Cup. Many are questioning what went wrong, especially since the team had solid preparation for the Algeria 2023 U-17 AFCON.
One of the major issues affecting the team is the undue pressure of agents and scouts, who are loaded with cash and offers to lure away players by talking coaches and managers into deals that would take the players out of camp and to offers abroad. These agents and scouts often distract the players’ attention and focus, and the players end up playing in lower-tier European leagues. Unfortunately, this affected the team’s attention and focus during the U-17 AFCON tournament.
It is believed that coach Nduka Ugbade presented a true U-17 team in Algeria, but African football has been bedeviled by age cheats. However, the international passport of the players and their MRI scan results certified by CAF should have ensured that this was not an issue or excuse for the team's failure to reach the last four of the tournament.
The quality of players is also an issue. While talents at the U-17 level are abundant at the grassroots and secondary or post-primary schools, coaches fail most times to comb the nooks and crannies of the country to get these talents. Instead, many coaches rely on open screening exercises, which often result in selecting average players.
The tradition of exposing all tiers of the national team to fans during camping by ensuring open training exercises has in the past helped coaches to select top-quality players. However, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has stopped this practice, opting instead to hide the team from the media and fans, which has made it easier for coaches, agents, and scouts to manipulate the team and player selection.
Lastly, academies are now scattered all over the places, but no one knows if standards are diligently followed. As a result, average players are littered in the training grounds of so-called Football Academies. It is imperative that these issues are addressed to build a better team in the future.
