NFF throws Golden Eaglets screening open

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF in an effort to ensure that as many talents in Nigeria get a crack at making the new Golden eaglets team has formally thrown the screening exercise open and requested players within the age limits to take their chance by attending the on-going screening holding at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project Site in Abuja. According to a release signed by the team’s media officer, Morakinyo Abodunrin, all interested players are to report from Tuesday but would be responsible for their personal upkeep since they were not initially invited by the coaching crew when the exercise took off last Thursday. He noted that since the coach, Emmanuel Amuneke said the team is still work in progress hence the need to further extend the dragnet to other budding talents: “Everything is well on course but we are not yet satisfied with what we have seen so far. You don’t need a whole day or week to test the capability of a player and it is important we have a look at what others can do,” reasoned the former African Footballer of the Year. As at press time, hundreds of players have already passed through the exercise but officials maintained that there is the need to have a pool of players in store in case of any eventuality. Apart from documentary proof of their births, selected players would be subjected to the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Test before they can be eligible to feature in the upcoming African qualifiers. The continental soccer-ruling body, CAF, has already drawn the Golden Eaglets bye into the second Round of the 2015 CAN Under-17 Championship to be held in Niger. The Nigerian youngsters would meet the winner of the First Round decider between Burundi and Congo DR between July and August.