Head coach of Nigeria’s national U-20 boys team the Flying Eagles, Paul Aigbogun has stated that it will be extremely difficult for him to invite his foreign based professionals for the WAFU B preparatory tournament to be held in Lome, Togo from December 6 – 16 as the championships is not listed in the FIFA calendar.
Nigeria’s U-20 team will play the likes of Ghana, Niger Republic and Benin Republic at the competition in Togo which organizers say will serve as a preparatory programme for the regions five teams that have qualified to participate at the 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations finals in Tanzania holding from February 7 to 17.
Coach Aigbogun noted that they might find it difficult to secure the services of the foreign based professionals because most leagues will be on during the time of the tournament. Aigbogun also noted that he will be happy if some of the foreign based players will be available despite their tight schedule.
While in Togo, the Flying Eagles will play her first game at the preparatory championship against the young Squirrels of Benin on December 7 before playing the Junior Mena of Niger Republic on December 9 and the Ghana Black Satellites on December 12.
Some of the foreign based players that might not be available for the team include former Akwa United midfielder Aremu Azeez who plays for IK Start in Norway, Akpan Udoh of Israeli side Bnei Sakhnin and Nnamdi Oforborh who plays for Bournemouth FC in England.
