Bash92:
Sixteen-year old Nigerian rising star, Maduabuchi Obinwa, may be lacing boots for the United States’ U-17 side after being frustrated out of the Golden Eaglets. The parents of the immensely talented footballer, Mr and Mrs Nnanna Obinwa, had wanted their son born in the US on 15th January, 1997, to play for Nigeria and brought him home ostensibly for that purpose.

But Maduabuchi who hit Golden Eaglets’ camp on arrival in Nigeria was told by NFF medics that he failed MRI test. Not convinced, Mrs Stella Obinwa is contesting the result, insisting that her son is not over aged, arguing that it (the result) was only a poly to stop him from lacing boots for the country.

A visibly bitter Mrs Obinwa, while narrating what they went through in the Golden Eaglets’ camp said it was a shame that her son was being denied the opportunity to serve his fatherland. In her words: “My son, Maduabuchi, is a talented footballer and has been doing well in the United States. The US coaches wanted him in their youth team, but we felt he should play for Nigeria.

“We got home only to face all manner of stumbling blocks. The first hurdle was when the NFF said we should pay for his MRI test at the National hospital in Abuja which we did. We paid 100,000 naira to run the test (I have the receipt) but the big surprise was when I was told that my son is over aged going by the MRI result. I have challenged that because I know my son was born 16 years ago in the States. The amazing thing is that the NFF has refused to release the MRI scan result to me. Since I paid for it, it’s my property and I need to see the outcome of the test,” Mrs Obinwa stated.

Beyond the MRI test, she added that she was made to pick the feeding and hotel bills of his son while in camp in Calabar. “The NFF said I should pick the bills of our flight to camp where the Eaglets are camped in Calabar. I also paid for my son’s feeding and accommodation even while the governor of Cross River state was funding the camping exercise there. My boy has been frustrated out of camp and returned to the States where the coaches have since welcomed him into the US U-18 team,” Mrs Obinwa disclosed.

Soccer Star’s check revealed that Maduabuchi, a midfielder, now laces boots for Chicago Magic, a youth club affiliated to PSG soccer academy. He is billed to hit Europe next month to undergo trials with Real Madrid’s youth team.

Maduabuchi is also on the list of 60 top players called up by a U.S. soccer’s scouting network from major cities across the country. The players invited are those born in 1996 and 1997. U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team head Javier Perez is expected to call in some of the top performers from the combine for the next cycle with that age group, which kicks off its next camping in Southern California later this month.

“Out there in the US, everything is all-expenses paid by the government, but here I paid for virtually everything from transportation to MRI test down to his feeding and accommodation and at the end of the day our desire to see him play for Nigeria has not worked out,” Mrs Obinwa lamented.

www.soccerstarng.mobi/story_display_page.php?cover_story_id=856