₦airaland Forum

Earthquake3:
I disagree most talented Nigerian players are still playing on the streets its not like academies are affordable or available, it's mostly for kids with rich parents

People like Jamie Vardy were not discovered until they were 25, I strongly believe that there are millions of kids out there that can compete with if not displace the silver spoon academy kids

Humility017:
Lol....to hell with his Chinese made flag...
he should tender a global apology to nigeria...
before he will be considered.

he made a mockery of the most populous black nation on earth...the 8th most populated nation in the world....

Icon4s:
Was Jamie Vardy only playing street football when according to you he was discovered?

We are not talking about academy kids, we are talking about young Professional U20 players. The best places to pick the U20 players are from professional clubs, not even the academies not to talk of the streets.

tbaba1234:
Nura Abdullahi to retire at 21 due to heart problems

Orkpekyandega:
Tammy Abraham should wait for an English call up even if he is 45years old.


We don't need him.

Rubbish...

Icon4s:
So if Kanu was 46 then how old is now?

forgiveness:
I just read this and I think I should share it here.

Are the informations here alll true?


Nigeria: Can Eagles Win With Igbo Goalie?


OPINION

By Emeka Obasi
This is a purely academic exercise which will come with attacks from different angles. Let it stir national controversy. Thank heavens I am Igbo. I understand Eagles first choice keeper, Francis Uzoho, shares same local government of origin with me.

I am also glad that this is football, not politics. Those who will rise against me may not all be Igbo. Even some Fulani herdsmen or Boko Haram fighters could dislike me for this. That is the good thing about soccer. All Nigerians speak one language.

I did a lot of research and discovered that all three times the Eagles won the Nations Cup, those who manned the post were not Igbo. In 1980, Best Ogedegbe, an Itsekiri raised in Ibadan, was our number one.

At Tunisia '94, Peter Rufai, an Idimu Prince from Lagos, bred in Port Harcourt was in goal. In 2013, it was Vincent Enyeama, the Ibibio man, who earned fame in Aba.

Now, this is not taking anything away from the great Igbo people. They have given Nigeria the best in football. And they remain the best. The records are there, from the colonial period till date.

The first Nigerian professional footballer, Titus Okere [Swindon Town, 1952] hailed from Imo State. The first Nigerian to coach the senior national team, Dan Anyiam [1954] also hailed from there. The first Nigerian to play in the World Cup, Paul McGrath, is an Igbo man.

Stephen Keshi [Delta] is the only compatriot to have won the Africa Nations cup as player and coach. He is the only Nigerian to have qualified another country[Togo] for the World cup. And with Emmanuel Amuneke [Tanzania] stand out as Nigerians who have led other nations to the Africa Nations cup.



Christian Chukwu [Enugu State], is the only Nigerian who won the Nations cup as captain[1980], and also won a continental trophy as skipper [Africa Winners Cup 1977]. He was the first of our countrymen to be voted Most Valuable Player [MVP] of the Nations Cup.

On top of the Nigerian soccer ladder, is Nwankwo Kanu [Abia State]. Many think he is from Imo, where he was born and bred. Papilo is the lone Nigerian to be named African Footballer of the Year twice.

He is the only Nigerian to have won the World Club Champions cup, the European Champions' League, English FA cup and to crown it all, the first African captain to win Olympic Soccer gold medal [Atlanta'96].

The Igbo have indeed, produced great national goalkeepers. The country's best during the colonial days was Francis 'Magnet ' Ibiam. He was in goal for the UK Tourists in 1949.

The Great Emmanuel Anthony Oguejiofor Okala is my hero. He was voted African Footballer of the year 1978, the first Nigerian to be so recognized. His younger brother, Patrick Chuka, also became Nigeria's number one.

Okala did what no other player from our climes may be able to do. On September 3, 1977, he was in goal for Enugu Rangers against AS Police of Senegal, in an Africa Winners Cup quarter finals game. It ended goalless.

Twenty four hours later, Sunday, September 4, Okala captained the Green Eagles to ECOWAS Games soccer gold with a 2-1 defeat of Ghana. Two international games for club and country, within 24 hours.

And that is where it ends. The surprise is that Okala did not win the Africa Nations cup as number one. Ogedegbe took over in 1980, while the former served as reserve when Nigeria won the Nations Cup in Lagos.

It was strange that even when coach Otto Gloria wanted to introduce the African Giant in the grand finale, with Eagle leading Algeria 3-0, an official of the NFA refused. The Brazilian coach walked away in anger.

However, Okala and Ogedegbe were the best of friends. As second choice, the taller keeper offered very useful tips to his colleague who was never seen as a rival. While fans read ethnic meanings into it all, Okala's room mate was Segun Odegbami.

Patrick Okala got the opportunity which eluded his elder brother. At the Cote D'Ivoire '84 Nations Cup, he kept goal for Nigeria in a grand finale. Captained by young Keshi, Eagles got the opener through Muda Lawal. Cameroon woke up from slumber to win 3-1.

Emma Okala won All Africa Games soccer gold in 1973. Curiously, he neither finished the opening nor the final game. In the first match against the Black Stars, the goalie was injured in the 75th minute and replaced by Eyo Essien.

It got worse in the grand finale against Guinea. Twelve minutes into the match, there was a collision with an opposing defender. Okala could not continue. Again, Essien was introduced, and the Eagles won a first African title.



The Eagles had Okala in goal all through their gold medal defence at the Algiers '78 Games. He played all 90 minutes in the final. Hosts, Algeria, dethroned the champions with a lone goal victory.

Aloy Agu [Imo], became number one in a funny fashion. Clemens Westerhof dropped Rufai at the airport on the way to Cameroon in 1989. David Ngodigha took over, but was injured. Substitute, Agu, was not prepared at all. He borrowed boots and jersey, but did well even with the Eagles crashing out.

Agu was in goal at the Algiers '90 Nations Cup. He captained the team to the final. Algeria won 1-0 to lift the cup for the first time. Rufai returned and Nigeria won the trophy at Tunisia '94.

The Eagles are almost set for the Egypt'2019 Nations Cup. Certainly Uzoho will be in goal. If he does not, there is Ikechukwu Ezenwa. Both are Igbo. Can they break the jinx?

In 56 years, since Nigeria debuted at the Africa Nations Cup, the Eagles have won the cup thrice. On two occasions, they were captained by Igbo players: Chukwu in 1980, and Keshi in 1994. In all three cup victories, the keepers were not Igbo: Ogedegbe, 1980. Rufai, 1994. Enyeama, 2013.

Let us breath, pray and hope. Nigeria broke the almost four-decade CAF Champions League jinx, through Enyimba. That sounds Igbo.



https://allafrica.com/stories/201904270025.html

Afobear:
Averaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggeeeeeeeeeeeeeee pundits thinking there Averaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggeeeeeeeeeeeeeee team will clinch the Afcon !!! Ffs , you drunks never learn. Where Iheanacho pigmouth ?

Truidstar:
Iheanacho is counting £70,000 a week. How much do you count? Keep hating, nacho keeps counting and will bounce back. Grow up!!!

tbaba1234:
Aigbogun is leaving Nigeria with the bulk of the team that played in AFCON. The foreign based will join them in Germany.

That is ridiculous, he could not find new and better players all these months

That team is a write-off.

tbaba1234:
Aigbogun is leaving Nigeria with the bulk of the team that played in AFCON. The foreign based will join them in Germany.

That is ridiculous, he could not find new and better players all these months

That team is a write-off.

DrLikita12:
I am a student so I probably have more questions than answers but I know three things (that we probably all know):
One is that stunting affects the height a child will eventually grow to and nutrition is a major factor in stunted growth. We have a higher percentage of stunted children in Nigeria than in Guinea and Senegal so it could be that children in Nigeria are less likely to develop to their full height than children in these other countries. If that is the case, then you can expect that at the U17 level our boys will be shorter than their counterparts from these countries.
This link shows the percentage of stunted children (U5) in different countries; you can take a look if you are interested (the most recent data was obtained in 2016): https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.STNT.ZS?locations=GN-NG-AT-IE-SN-CM-CA.
I don't know when the data in this link was obtained but the trend is similar: https://www.unicef.org/pon00/leaguetos1.htm

Secondly, MRI is a good tool to prevent age cheating but it is not perfect. It varies from person to person and it is not 100% accurate (I can't say that our boys keep getting screened out while Cameroonian boys don't, that's just silly) But it's important to remember that once in a while an overaged kid will "pass" the MRI scan and a boy who is just shy of 16 may even fail it. Do diet and environment affect when our wrist bones fuse? Maybe, but I have no sources. This article here says that in an MRI scan of a group of Ghanaian boys there was little correlation between their actual ages and the "MRI determined" ages, but the second article says that there was "moderate correlation" in a group of Egyptian boys so it probably varies, on some level, between races. Does it vary between ethnic groups of the same race? I don't know but I think it might.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dear-fifa-there-is-no-scientific-test-to-prevent-age-fraud/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378603X1730219X

Finally, genetics may play a role. I don't have reliable data so I do not know the average height of Africans in various African countries but maybe we are a 'shorter' country. Someone once mentioned that Nigerians are shorter than some West Africans, I'm not sure. I know there are some Africans that are much taller than us but I didn't think there was that much difference between West Africans...not that I've noticed anyway.
From now on though, I'll be sure to keep an eye out

Earthquake3:
Forgiveness what's the purpose of bringing up this rubbish here?

Daninya111:
So our U17 team lost their 3rd place game to Angola today.

Daninya111:
So our U17 team lost their 3rd place game to Angola today.

BascoVanVeli:
Victor Osimhen scores

sheyishemba:
Peter olayinka scored

elyte89:
Despite Angola losing a man down early in d 2nd half,yet dey couldn't equalise,let alone of winning

A lot of work needs to b done on d team going forward