There are strong indications that all is well in the camp of Nigeria’s U – 23 Eagles as they prepare for the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Senegal which kicks off on 28 November.
Chief Coach Samson Siasia, who raised a save-my-soul alarm few days ago over what he described as deliberate attempt by clubs to sabotage his preparation for the competition and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, nonchalant attitude to the plight of his team, is said to be happy that all the invited players from the local league are fully in camp now.
Last week, it was a frustrated Siasia who cried out that his camp was empty due to clubs’ incessant demand for their players to report for club duties. This week, the story has changed as the former Super Eagles’ Head Coach is now faced with the problem of selecting the 30 players who will make his list to Morocco where the team will have a final camping before proceeding to Senegal for the African tournament.
According to the website of the football Federation, thenff.com, the invited 35 home -based players were at the team’s training session on Tuesday evening, with competition intense as all struggled to impress as the list of 30 is soon to be compiled. The session was so charged that Siasia himself had to tell the players to take things easy so as to avoid injuries.
An elated Siasia said: “For now, all I can say is that I am very happy with what I have seen as the players came back from their club engagements fully refreshed and ready to do the nation proud. The NFF has also responded positively to my cry for the release of these players so we can prepare properly for the big task of picking one of Africa’s tickets for the football event of next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“I must confess that selecting the 30 players who will be departing the shores of this country for Morocco is giving myself and my assistants real headache, but this is a positive headache which at the end of the day will enable us select only the best that will fly the nation’s flag with guests,” Siasia said.
Meanwhile, the Dream Team will on Thursday at the National Stadium, Abuja trade tackles with newly promoted NPFL club Niger Tornadoes of Minna. The encounter is expected to kick off at 4 pm, while on Saturday morning, the team will engage C.O.D FC of Lagos.
Taiwo Adelu : Twitter :@taiwo007, Facebook :Taiwo Adelu, email taiwosamson2002@yahoo.com