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Nigeria fell short of qualifying for the U-17 AFCON
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Manu Garba was appointed head coach of the Eaglets weeks before the competition
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CAF Not bulging on the decision to pick only 2 teams from the WAFU B Zone
Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba has expressed immense pride in his team’s performance after defeating host Ghana to clinch the bronze medal at the WAFU B U-17 tournament.
“we just had three weeks in camp with these boys you see.”
Speaking after the victory, Garba highlighted his unbeaten record against Ghana and called for an increase in the number of teams that can qualify for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“It remains my best moment,” the Nigerian coach said. “Because we just had three weeks in camp with these boys you see.”
“Only three weeks. For them to have even qualified for the semi-finals, and won the third place match. My destiny is always good when I meet a Ghanaian team.
“I’ve never lost against Ghana. Ghana have been in camp for more than six months because we have been following every team. Imagine assembling a team for three weeks and coming to the semi-finals. That’s an achievement.”
Garba praised his team’s efforts and highlighted the challenges they faced due to the limited preparation time.
“I’m proud of our boys for not even getting the top level, but they played very good football too. And we have communicated with the federation, they knew that it was late for them to have started late. And I believe we’ll prepare very well for the AFCON.”
He also advocated for more representation from the West African region in the U-17 AFCON, citing the strong performance of teams from this zone.
“It is said that 10 countries are going to represent Africa in the World Cup. So I believe, CAF would do well to take all the four teams from this group that have gone to the semi-final, because, West Africa B is the stronghold of African football when it comes to the youth level.”
Garba emphasized the historical success of West African teams at the U-17 level.
“Like I said in one of the post-match meeting, Nigeria has ranked number one in the world at the under-17 level, followed by Brazil, then Ghana. We also have Cote d’Ivoire who have won bronze at one time or the other. Burkina Faso have been doing well at the under-17 level, even Nigeria.”
“Why shouldn’t CAF give us four slots from this zone? I think it is imperative for the WAFU official to follow up on this.
“I cannot imagine playing an AFCON without the likes of Ghana or Nigeria. So that’s my plea to the WAFU to make sure they get four teams to the AFCON from this group.”
