Eric Chelle took time out from his own Super Eagles duties on Friday to deliver a message of encouragement to Nigeria’s U20 side, the Flying Eagles, as the team intensifies preparations for next month’s WAFU B U20 Championship in Cote d’Ivoire, Footynaija.com reports.
The tournament, which serves as the qualification pathway for the next Africa U20 Cup of Nations, will be held in July, and Abdu Maikaba, the newly appointed Flying Eagles head coach, has been building his squad around an intensive training camp in Abuja since mid-May.
Chelle’s visit came shortly after the Flying Eagles played a friendly against Bussdor United inside the main bowl of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, a fixture the youngsters won comfortably by a 5-0 scoreline as part of their build-up.
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Addressing the team, the Super Eagles head coach leaned on the two qualities he believes separate young players who fulfil their potential from those who do not.
“If you want to succeed, go far to achieve your dreams, you have to be focused and secondly, listen attentively to your coaches,” Chelle said via NFF Official.
“If you do these, the sky will definitely be your starting point and chances for you to succeed is high.”
Maikaba, who only recently took charge of the Flying Eagles, welcomed the gesture from Nigeria’s senior team boss and used the moment to reaffirm where his squad’s mindset currently sits. He thanked Chelle for making time to visit and stressed that his players remain locked in on producing a strong showing once the tournament gets underway in Cote d’Ivoire.
Maikaba’s preparations have not been without complications, with the coach revealing that only a handful of foreign-based players are likely to be released for the tournament since it falls outside the official FIFA international window, meaning clubs are under no obligation to release their U20 players.
That reality makes the kind of mentality Chelle preached on Friday all the more relevant, with a squad built largely around home-based talent set to carry Nigeria’s hopes into a tournament held in a host nation, Cote d’Ivoire, that has won the senior AFCON twice and presents a genuinely difficult away assignment.
