The Golden Eaglets on Sunday began preparations for the FIFA U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates with the screening of new players in Abuja.
The two-week exercise according to coach Manu Garba is to discover new players to improve the team that nearly won the 10th CAN U-17 Championship in Morocco in March.
Already players scouted across the country during the break are to report to The NFF/FIFA Goal Project Site in Abuja on Sunday even as Garba warns that this is not an all-comers affair.
“It is important that we have a look at some new players for some specific positions because what we want is the best for the country,” said Manu.
“We are really grateful that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have approved our programme towards the World Cup in the UAE and hopefully we are going to get some good players to beef up the team that came second at the African championship.”
Manu has promised to re-organise the Golden Eaglets in a post-mortem analysis of the African Championship after his team lost 5-4 on penalties to Cote d’Ivoire following a pulsating 1-1 draw in the championship final.
“We are going to fortify the team despite the fact that some of these players secured us the ticket to the World Cup and we are going to look for quality replacements before going for the World Cup in the UAE,” he said.
Meanwhile, players picked from the screening exercise will undergo the mandatory Magnetic Image Resonance (MRI) test to ascertain if they are within the stipulated age bracket before the team’s close camping ahead of the World Cup in UAE between October 17 and November 8.
