Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets’ preparations for next month’s Under-17 AFCON qualifiers in Benin Republic has run into troubled waters as 40 of the 60 players penciled to prosecute the tournament have failed the mandatory MRI age test barely three weeks to the tournament.

This development, THISDAY learnt has thrown the team’s coaching crew led by Fatai Amoo into deep crisis with just three weeks to select a brand new squad to fly the country’s flag at the WAFU B qualifiers scheduled to begin on January 5.

Only 20 players passed the mandatory tests. Out of these players only five of them are in the main team with only two in Amoo’s preferred starting lineup.

According to sources, 40 of the 60 players who did the MRI test and failed were mainly the players the coach was seriously banking on for the competition.

Some of the affected players include even those from the national U16 team, who featured at an invitational tournament in Japan last year.

They will now have to pack out of the team’s hotel in Abuja and head home completely devastated after their hopes were dashed.

This will not be the first time the Eaglets have suffered such setback as the country does not have a credible database of junior players just as the desperation for players, parents and agents to get their wards into the national team at this level of the game has led to age-cheating.

Sources at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) hinted that it was to avoid Nigeria being embarrassed at major tournaments that it pegged Grade 1- 4 as the benchmark for the age test to ensure registered players are not disqualified to lead to the disqualification of the entire team by CAF.

“With CAF’s new rule, once a player or two is disqualified in a team, the entire squad is knocked out of the competition. This I believe is what the NFF is trying to avoid from happening to Golden Eaglets,” observed the credible source.

It was also learnt that there have been strident calls for Grade 5 to be accepted as the benchmark as was the case previously.

Some of the country’s top stars like Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze and Kelechi Iheanacho used the U17s as a springboard for lucrative transfers overseas.

Earlier, the country’s top stars like Victor Ikpeba, Nwankwo Kanu, Celestine Babayaro and a host of others similarly used the cadet competition to rise to stardom.

Golden Eaglets are drawn in Group B of the U17 qualifiers along with rivals Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

The two finalists of the tournament will advance to the U17 AFCON final tournament.

https://www.arise.tv/mri-disqualifies-40-golden-eaglets-three-weeks-to-u17-afcon-qualifiers/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost
Lalasticlala
Honeric01
Mynd44
Dominique

Nna mehn.

Makes no sense.

This is why majority of African players don't last ... They lie about their age and get burnt out early ...

Where is christantus Macaulay etc

Even Mikel Obi claimed he was on the same age range with Messi and Aguero but can you compare them now

Yawa don gas

These people 're more than 20 years...Set Awon Uzoho

The days of age falsification is over!

Africans and lies be like devil and hell.

wahala be like MRI

E no dey hard to disqualify

NFF will never learn, why were they camped in the first place as under 17s with some of those strong faces and MRI not conducted immediately the camp was opened?

Those over aged players who bribed their way into camp.....money don enter voicemail.

We can't keep undermining rules and think we would always benefit from it.
Millions of U17 are abound across the length and breath of this country. From Lagos maiduguri, Gombe to Onitsha, Abuja all the way down to Bayesla...

Nice one from MRI

AdeOlasode:
These people 're more than 20 years...Set Awon Uzoho

In their early 30s sef

We keep lying about our age and messing things up......we have alot of young boys who can play......why not source them out and couch them........now we have started failing when the game has not even started.

Shameful

Until we as a nation eschew mediocrity and materialism and begin praising hard work and integrity Nigeria is going no where in life.

We still don't get it . We are still talking hausa Igbo Yoruba for our problems

We area till blaming education as if before western education we never had good leaders.

The problem is we have switched every goal with money hence this is the result

Nigeria should be divided that's the only solution unless the people can reorientate themselves from the grass root level upwards.

Look at all of us in the south celebrating what happens in the north while the north all celebrates all the misfortune in the south how can we grow ...

We don't see other regions as neighbors we see them as liability.. we all feel if Nigeria separates our individual regions will do best and this is the problem

Until we accept one Nigeria not by force but by choice then forget it , we ain't going nowhere

Good one!
Corruption everywhere... And they know they are above the stipulated age grade...

Survival by any means necessary

Lai Mohammed is involved.

Damm. Since we always see our leaders as the only courses of our problems, you want to blame Buhari for this intentional age cheating abi? Nigeria is fantastically corrupt and even the devil is in shocked

Fake every where

The hustle is real

Good.......Let those who are of the appropriate age be selected,and most importantly,they must be good..

chatinent:
Nna mehn.

How do you change this colour, I've tried changing it but it not responding?

No be today na.
That's why they play for a few years and boom go into oblivion.

Nigerian clubs don't have academy teams and that's the problem. Too bad

They will always reduce their age,a 40 years old man will claim 17

na why we dey always win that tournament, na our kid brothers we dey follow play. When them don old enough to be great grandpa, na then them go dey play for super eagles and we go dey expect good result against young lads from other countries

you remember Christiantus that year, that man go be around 40something during 2007 un17WC, him go don dey grow grey hair by now

Please public should take note. Whenever you see this advert, buy cheap data run away the guy is a fraud. I paid 5k for data subscription a week ago, he blocked me after payment. Don't fall victim.

frankmoney:
This is why majority of African players don't last ... They lie about their age and get burnt out early ...

Where is christantus Macaulay etc

Even Mikel Obi claimed he was on the same age range with Messi and Aguero but can you compare them now

only handful of players of Messi and Aguero's age that still play excellently at the top now, so Mikel is doing well for his age

Wonders have ended...