TheCable

Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports development, on Tuesday, hosted the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria, a few days after they won the U-17 WAFU B championship in Ghana.

The minister received the team at his office in Abuja, where he hailed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for employing merit and competence in selecting coaches for the age-grade national teams.

Dare also charged the Golden Eaglets to remain focused and not be distracted by the WAFU cup win.

“The U-17 and U-20 girls have qualified for their FIFA World Cup competitions and the U-17 and U-20 boys have won regional tournaments in emphatic manner, with promises of what we can look forward to at their African championships next year,” he said.

“Our focus on grassroots development in all sports will continue. I want to charge you to remain focused for the continental championship in order to get the ticket to the World Cup. For you players, you must stay humble, hardworking and obedient to your coaches.”

Ismaila Abubakar, permanent secretary in the ministry, also announced a cash reward of N2 million for the Eaglets.

Abubakar said the team’s exemplary performance at the tournament deserved the reward.

In his remark, Nduka Ugbade, the team’s head coach, described the U-17 WAFU B championship as a special occasion.

He said his players would perform better at the African U-17 championship billed for Algeria next year.