President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, has said that football in the country had continued to wax strong despite the Super Eagles missing the 2022 World Cup ticket.
Pinnick said this on the back drop of regional triumphs of Nigeria’s U-17 men’s team as well as the Flying Eagles, who both won their respective WAFU Zone B championships.
Pinnick said he was delighted over the performance of the different national teams in recent international outings, including the Flamingos who have qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The leadership of the football federation as well as the Ministry of Sports had been heavily criticized following Nigeria’s failure to beat Ghana in the World Cup playoff in Abuja in March.
But since that time, there has been a remarkable turnaround for the different national teams, with the Super Eagles also winning their opening games in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers against Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe.
”There is no gainsaying that Nigeria Football has continued to wax strong. despite the Super Eagles’ narrow miss of a ticket to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. That miss has sparked something in all the National Teams, including the Super Eagles squad itself,” Pinnick wrote on social media.
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“It’s been two wins in two games for the Super Eagles in the race to 2023 AFCON, including an international win-record of 10-0 against Sao Tome & Principe. These followed impressive showings by an understrength team in friendly matches against World Cup-bound duo of Mexico and Ecuador in USA.
“The Super Falcons are heading to the Women AFCON Morocco 2022 with supreme confidence, having beaten Ghana and CIV in qualifying series, and holding Canada to a draw during their two-match tour in April.
“The Super Falconets bulldozed their way through the African qualifying series and are already getting set to dazzle the world at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
“The Flamingos also decimated African position and will participate in the 7th FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India later this year.
“The Flying Eagles turned back all opponents to win the WAFU B U20 Championship in Niger Republic in May and have qualified for the U20 AFCON taking place in Egypt early next year.
“The Golden Eaglets followed in the footsteps of their immediate seniors and conquered WAFU B region at the U17 category right there in Ghana, and will feature at the U17 AFCON in Algeria next year.
“Indeed, our teams are living up to expectations and we are particularly delighted by the performances of the youth teams, which assure us that the future is very bright for the senior
squads.
“We thank the Federal Government and our sponsors and partners for their tremendous support, and we assure them that the NFF will never relent in its determination to ensure that our football reaches new, exciting heights,” he added.
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