The Board of Nigeria Football Federation has announced the re-appointment of former U17 World Cup winner Manu Garba as Head Coach of the Nigeria U17 side, Golden Eaglets, www.aclsports.com reports.
Garba, who led the side to the U17 World Cup in Brazil in 2019, is back with the side as they begin preparations for the WAFU B U17 tournament slated for May.
The WAFU B U17 championship, which has been scheduled to take place in Ghana, is a qualifying tournament for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament proper, in which only the semifinalists at the continental showpiece will get to represent the continent at the World Cup event next year.
Garba replaces erstwhile coach Nduka Ugbade who led the side to a quarter-final place finish at the last U17 AFCON in 2023 thereby missing out on a place at the World Cup. The former Nigeria international will now immediately resume the role and take charge of the team’s preparations for next month’s WAFU B tournament.
Meanwhile, only Garba was named in the technical crew by the NFF and it remains to be seen which other coaches will be drafted in to work alongside the former World Cup winner. However, there are reports that former coach Ugbade could make a return as one of the assistants in the newly formed technical setup.
In his previous successful stint with the Golden Eaglets, 58-year-old Manu Garba with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi, Isaac Success, Musa Mohammed, Chidiebere Nwakali, and goalkeeper Dele Alampasu won the FIFA U17 World Cup for Nigeria in the United Arab Emirates in 2013.
After Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2023 edition of the U17 World Cup in Indonesia, Garba will hope to lead the most successful team in the history of the competition to the 2025 edition in Qatar.
