Abuja (Nigeria): The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has urged the ‘Golden Eaglets’ to create a record for themselves and for their country by winning the Under-17 World Cup for the fifth time.
NFF general secretary Mohammed Sanusi said that victory by the Eaglets in Sunday’s final in Chile would also be a record for President Muhammadu Buhari, reports Xinhua.
According to him, Buhari will make history by receiving the trophy as a civilian president, 30 years after he received it as a military head of state, when the Eaglets won the maiden edition of the tournament in 1985 in China.
The young Nigerians have set up an all-African final against Mali after defeating Mexico 4-2 in the semifinal.
Sanusi said the football house was optimistic that the Eaglets would do the country and the president proud. The Eaglets had everything going for them in the tournament, especially now that it would play an African opponent in the final, said the NFF general secretary.
He allayed the fear being expressed by some Nigerians that Mali stand a better chance to win the trophy, having won the 2015 Africa U-17 Championship in Niger early in the year. Sanusi urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the team to enable it complete its assignment by winning the trophy.
