Two sets of 10 Nigerian Footballers below the age of 16 were selected from ten clubs drawn across the six geopolitical zones of the country as members of Team Nigeria for the upcoming trials billed for Germany in the month of October 2022.
The players were selected during a three-day talent hunt of the 2022 edition of FC Bayern Munich Youth Cup Nigeria tournament which kick-started on Friday, 29th April 2022 and clocked off on Sunday, 1st May 2022 at the Awka City Stadium.
The two sets of successful players out of the 100 between the ages of 15 and 16 who participated and earned the right to play in Germany in October as the first set of 10-man squad are Ugochukwu Kalu, Chidera Clinton Nnadi, Halifa Bello Abdullahi, Lawal Waris, Bashir Idris, Victor Johnson, Mohammed Lawal, Sunday Godwin, Shuaibu Aliyu and Kosi Chukwuma while the second set of the 10-man team who will serve as backup are Tunmise Adeoye, Sadik Maliafia, Mohammed Abubakar, Abdulata Omale, Nzube Mbaezue, Uchenna Onoja, Lateef Alabi, Ibrahim Ayinde, Aladinla Oladayo and Franklin Ogbozor.
The ten clubs which participated in the 2022 edition of the FC Bayern Munich Youth Cup Nigeria 2022 which was jointly bankrolled by Aspire Foundation, Victor Obinna Edeh (VOE) Foundation, FC Bayern Munich and Anambra State Sports Development Commission (ASSDC) are Jazzy FA, Greenfoot FC, Aspire FC, Anambra All Stars, Emmy Dinho FC, Jay One Academy, Ablaze FC, IB Sporting Dreams FC, Kia Sports Academy and the eventual back-to-back Champions FC Heart of Kano.
In a chat with Sports Writers, Founder Aspire FC and Chairman Board of Trustees, Aspire Foundation, Dr. Chukwuemeka Okeke stated that his Foundation is poised to continually provide the platform for Anambra and Nigerian youths to express themselves with their God given talent in sports within the shores of the country and beyond. Okeke opined that the programme was a success owing to the technical supervision of Hans Pflugler, a 1990 World Cup winner and FC Bayern Munich legend as well as Christopher Loch, an International Youth Coach of FC Bayern World Squad and an ex-German international.
Reacting also, the Proprietor, VOE Foundation, Mr. Victor Edeh stated that the competition was played in an environment which can be compared with the Allianz Arena in Germany. Edeh commended the Anambra State Government for providing the enabling environment and support infrastructural-wise, the top football administrator revealed that the selected players will be nurtured at the FC Bayern Munich Academy to fully maximize their potentials.
On his part, the Chairman ASSDC, Hon. Tony Oli expressed his delight that players of Anambra origin made the cut in the selected 10, Oli said that the state is blessed with abundant talents and have been a major supplier of talents to the various grades of the National teams over the years. He wished the selected 10 the very best in their career while also eulogizing Aspire Foundation and VOE Foundation for a great job well done.
By Ikenna Nwokedi, Ph.D
