NIGERIA’S U-15 boys national team, the Future Eagles, will be off to Spain tomorrow for a UEFA U-16 Development Tournament in which they have been invited to participate.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation, the special invitation is as a result of the country’s pedigree in youth football, which includes five world titles at U-17 boys level and two runners-up finishes at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
As part of their preparation for the tournament, the Future Eagles trained for a week at the Remo Stars Sports Institute in Ikenne, Ogun State during which they played two matches against the Remo Stars U-16s (Beyond Limits FC), winning one and losing the other.
The Future Eagles, coached by Patrick Bassey, had in March also won one and lost one against their Moroccan counterparts on a two-match tour of the North African country. Their first game ended in a 2-3 defeat, but Nigeria won the second game 5-3 in the city of Kenitra.
The UEFA U-16 Tournament will take place at the Pinatar Arena Football Centre in San Pedro del Pinatar.
At the tournament, the Future Eagles will face Belgium on Friday (8pm), Italy on Sunday (8pm) and England on Wednesday next week (1pm).
Other fixtures will see England against Italy on Friday (5pm), England against Belgium on Sunday (5pm) and Italy against Belgium on Wednesday next week (11am).
The Future Eagles’ delegation to Spain, with 20 players, will be led by Zannah Mohammed Malah, a member of the NFF Technical and Development Committee.
