Mexican sports daily, La Aficion has alleged that Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets’ on parade at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament are age cheats.Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets beats Mexico 4-2 on Friday November 7 in the competition’s semi-final.
Sahara reporters informs that La Aficion’s report claims African teams inflate the age of their players in junior tournaments and this competition is no different.
The Golden Eaglets are most successful team in the U-17 age category with four titles but the teams that have represented Nigeria at each competition have had question marks hanging over their heads regarding their ages.
Perhaps the most popular case of age cheats being exposed in Nigeria was in 2009 when former Green Eagles defender Adokiye Amiesimaka.
Amiesimaka who was a columnist for The Punch newspaper claimed U-17 team captain, Fortune Chukwudi was 25-year-old.
He asserted: “In the 2002/2003 season, I was chairman of Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt. I decided to have a feeder team of fresh school leavers not older than 20 years. One of my key players then is the current captain of our so-called Under 17 Golden Eaglets.
“By his own admission at that time, that is seven years ago, he was 18 years old…If we are not utterly irresponsible, how can he be eligible for this tournament when he is not less than 25 years old now?”
Meanwhile, four English Premier League Clubs are scrambling to get the signature of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets striker, Victor Osimhen.
There are indications that top clubs from England including Manchester City, Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC are all monitoring the 16-year old Nigerian.
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