Golden Eaglets players have all passed the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) test ahead of the WAFU B U-17 Championship in Accra, Ghana.
The Confederation of African Football on Tuesday declared that all 20 players presented by Nigeria for the championship, which begins on Wednesday, have passed the examination.
The Eaglets, who are the defending champions, landed in Accra with the mandate of not only successfully defending their regional crown but also continuing to improve the squad for a great outing at the U-17 AFCON and onwards to a probable sixth world title.
Earlier this month there were claims that coach Manu Garba’s camp had been thrown into confusion following reports that a large number of players invited to the Eaglets camp failed the MRI test.
The declaration of eligibility of all the 20 players by CAF is testimony that the tests conducted on the players by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) before the team’s departure were perfect, and sets the tone for the country to have a full squad to defend the title she won last year, also in Ghana.
Garba said, “We are happy about the results. Having the whole squad prosecute the tournament somewhat puts our minds at rest.
“The players have been responding to training. The weather is similar to what we experienced in Abuja before our departure. Our primary objective is to get one of the two tickets from here to the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. We will focus on the matches one at a time. For now, we are focused on our opening game against Burkina Faso on Thursday”.
The Eaglets begin their title defence against Burkina Faso at the University Stadium on Thursday, before matches against Niger Republic on Sunday and Togo on Wednesday.
The match against Niger Republic will also be held at the University Stadium while the clash with Togo will take place at the Accra Sports Stadium.
