Nigeria U20 Boys, the Flying Eagles, have arrived in Accra, Ghana ahead of the kick-off of this year’s WAFU B U20 Boys Tournament, www.aclsports.com reports.
The tournament, which was earlier scheduled to be an expanded one with the 9-nation WAFU A, was reverted to be WAFU B-only arrangement, with Accra being the host starting from 10th – 23rd July.
Meanwhile, head coach Aliyu Zubairu has called up skipper Daniel Bameyi and 19 other players for the tournament.
Majority of the players came from the group of players that finished third at the Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Egypt two months ago and thus qualified to represent Africa at the FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Chile later this year.
Goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt stands out among the group, along with defender Odinaka Okoro and midfielders Bidemi Amole, Ezekiel Kpangu, Divine Oliseh, and Tahir Maigana.
In terms of new faces in the squad, Bayelsa United goalkeeper Clinton Andy, defenders Abba Sadiq, Ahmed Akinyele and Marvelous Freedom, midfielder Abduljelil Kamaldeen, and forwards Imrana Muhammad and Qudus Olayiwola are listed.
Nigeria, winners of the last two editions of the WAFU B U20 Championships (hosted by Niger Republic and Togo respectively), will take on hosts Ghana in the opening match of Group A on Thursday, from 3pm on Thursday, 10th July. Venue is the Prampram Centre in Accra before facing Benin Republic on Sunday, 13th July in their second game.
20 FLYING EAGLES IN GHANA FOR WAFU B U20 TOURNAMENT:
Goalkeepers: Ifeanyi Ebenezer Harcourt (Sporting Lagos); Clinton Andy (Bayelsa United)
Defenders: Abba Khalid Sadiq (Niger Tornadoes); Odinaka Okoro (Sporting Lagos); Daniel Bameyi (Bayelsa United); Akinniran Oluwashile (Water FC); Ahmed Akinyele (Remo Stars); Marvelous Freedom (Ikorodu City)
Midfielders: Divine Oliseh (Forster Academy); Bidemi Amole (Real Sapphire FC); Tahir Maigana (Wireless FC); Ezekiel Kpangu (Inspire Academy); Rawa Mohammed (Beyond Limits); Matthew Kingsley (Kings FC); Abduljelil Kamaldeen (Kwara Football Academy); Shafiu Adamu Duguri (Wikki Tourists)
Forwards: Abdullahi Muhammed (Kwara United); Godday Otalyul-Imbus (Calabar Rovers); Imrana Muhammad (Mavlon FC); Qudus Olayiwola (P Sport FC)
