The Nigeria U-15 team, commonly referred to as the Future Eagles, along with their officials, have encountered a setback as the Spanish Embassy has refused to grant them visas to participate in the UEFA U16 Development Tournament, scheduled to commence on Friday.
This was made known by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF in a post on X on Monday.
NFF confirmed that the special invitation for the tournament has come as a result of Nigeria’s pedigree in youth football, in which she has won five world titles at U17 boys’ level and reached the FIFA World Cup final on two occasions at U20 level.
As part of its preparation for the tournament, the Future Eagles trained for a week at the Remo Stars’ Sports Institute in Ikenne, during which it played two matches against the Remo Stars’ U16 boys (Beyond Limits FC), winning one and losing the other.
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The Future Eagles, coached by Patrick Bassey, also won one and lost one against their Moroccan counterparts on a two-match tour of that North African country last month. Their first game ended in a 2-3 defeat, but they buckled up to win the second game 5-3 in the city of Kenitra.
The UEFA U16 Tournament, which brings warm memories of the UEFA-CAF U17 Meridian Tournament that started in 1997 but was discontinued a decade after, will take place at the Pinatar Arena Football Centre in San Pedro del Pinatar.
The Future Eagles’ delegation to Spain, inclusive of 20 players, was to be led by Zannah Mohammed Malah, a member of the NFF Technical and Development Committee.
