The Nigerian contingent on arrival in Ouagadougou on Saturday
By Dianabasi Effiong
Nigeria will be up against the representative teams of the Benin Republic and Côte d’Ivoire in the group stages of the WAFU B zonal qualifiers for the 2025 CAF Schools Football Championship.
The zonal qualifying tournament will take place in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, within the week.
The four-day fiesta will witness competition in both male and female categories, though Nigeria is taking part in only the male event.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, Group A of the male competition has hosts Burkina Faso, Ghana, and the Niger Republic, with Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and the Benin Republic in Group B.
In the female category, hosts Burkina Faso are up against Cote d’Ivoire in the two-team Group A, with Ghana, Benin Republic, and Niger Republic in Group B.
On Monday, the Nigerian squad, made up of players from a number of schools that took part in the national competition in Abuja two months ago, will take on their counterparts from Cote d’Ivoire at the Stade August 4 in Ouagadougou, from 11.00 a.m.
On Tuesday, at 9.00 a.m., the Nigerian school boys will take the pitch against their counterparts from the Benin Republic.
Semi-final matches are scheduled for Wednesday while the loser’s final and final matches will be played on Thursday.
The Nigerian contingent, made up of 19 players and six officials, travelled through Lagos and Abidjan before arriving in Ouagadougou on Saturday, and are lodged at the Hotel Splendid in the Burkinabe capital.
The 19 players in the Nigeria team are drawn from the Government Basic Education School, Kaduna; Government Junior Secondary School, Jalingo; Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Ukwu; National Grammar School, Enugu; and Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti.
The team is led by Coach Oluwaseun Oyeniyi.
Goalkeepers: Sa’adu Tukur (Government Junior Secondary School, Jalingo); Joshua Chima (Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Ukwu).
Defenders: Mujaheed Nura (Government Basic Secondary School, Kaduna); John Oruomoni (National Grammar School, Enugu); Hamza Ibrahim Aliyu (Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Ukwu); Tobiloba Adedeji (Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti); Divine Juwe ((Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Ukwu); Timothy Ijachi (National Grammar School, Enugu).
Midfielders: Yusuf Auwal (Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Ukwu); Isaac Ajang (Government Junior Secondary School, Jalingo); Thomas Titus (National Grammar School, Enugu); Peter Moses (Government Basic Secondary School, Kaduna); Abdulsalam Mohammed (Government Basic Secondary School, Kaduna); Ayomide Adeleke (Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti); Nnamdi Echeruozo (National Grammar School, Enugu).
Forwards: Marcus Adeyanju (Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti); Wisdom Okonkwo (Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Ukwu); Umar Faruk Shuaibu (Government Basic Secondary School, Kaduna); Abdulrazzaq Mufutau (Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti).
