The Golden Eaglets’ buildup to the WAFU B U-17 AFCON tournament in Ghana has suffered a setback after many of the players failed the MRI Age Test.
Reports suggested that about half of the 35-man squad failed the test throwing the technical crew into a panic mood as the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, is mandated to submit the final list to the Confederation of African Football, CAF, today.
The squad is said to be deficient in many areas but the NFF dismissed the report of panic saying the team is on course for the tournament.
In a press statement signed by its Media Director, Demola Olajire, on Sunday, the NFF quoted Coach Manu Garba who asked Nigerians to discountenance stories of large failures of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests in his team and rather believe that his crew will put together a squad that will do the job of winning a ticket to next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations from the tournament in Ghana.
“Let me clear the air on this matter. The genuine U17 players, according to their official document made available to the NFF and the MRI tests conducted by the football body are still in the camp preparing for the WAFU B U17 tournament. When the camp opened last month, the very sincere football academies had to withdraw their players after the MRI tests they conducted showed that their players were in Grade 5. These players had to leave the camp immediately.
“Those who were not sincere and thought they could find a way through one way or the other have been exposed after the NFF conducted its own MRI a few days ago, and found the results earlier presented by their players before entering the camp did not tally with the requirements of the NFF. The NFF insists on players whose results are between Grade 1 – 4. Players on Grade 5 have been asked to leave the camp.
The five-time world champions, who are title holders of the WAFU B U17 Championship, will begin the defence of their title against Burkina Faso on May 16, 2024.
