Govt officials, agents, academy owners hijack U-20 screening

The ongoing Flying Eagles screening exercise meant to select players for the 2024 WAFU B U20 Championship, scheduled for October and November in Togo, has been hijacked by government officials, football agents, and football academy owners, The PUNCH   reports.

According to some of the players undergoing the selection process at the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja, who spoke to The PUNCH  on the condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, the exercise has been completely taken over by the infiltrators, leaving the Aliyu Zubairu-led technical crew confused.

“Some players are either sent herre by top government officials with lettesr or by football academy owners and agents, all looking for spots on the team. Some of them that were dropped were sent back to the coach by the government officials, who insist that they must be picked. The number of agents here is an indication of what is about to happen,” said one of the players.

”The coach is reportedly very confused and under immense pressure regarding whom to select, considering the government officials’ candidates, agents, academy owners, and so on,” he added.

Another player decried the pitiable condition of their camp when it opened last Thursday.

“We were initially kept in a space infested with mosquitoes and bed bugs before being moved to the usual camp site, where the feeding is very poor,” he said.

The Flying Eagles took on Water FC in a friendly match at the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja on Wednesday and will next face the Malantaki side, preparatory to the sub-regional tournament in Togo, which will determine the zone’s representative for the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations held January 1 to 19 in South Africa.

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