(NAN)
A football administrator, Ebere Amaraizu, has hailed the Golden Eaglets for emerging winners and lifting the 2022 West African Football Union (WAFU B) Under-17 Tournament’s trophy.
The Eaglets defeated the Young Stallions of Burkina Faso by 2-1 at the Cape Coast Stadium in Ghana on Friday.
Amaraizu, who is a Director in Nigerian Nationwide League One (NLO) in-charge of South-East, gave the commendation while speaking with NAN in Enugu on Saturday on the exploits of Nigerian youths.
He said: “I salute the resilience of the boys and the ability to grow from their several mistakes to thrive and become champions in the final match.
“We commend the matured guidance role of the technical crew and bench, led by Coach Nduka Ugbade who is versatile in sports parenting by ensuring that they regularly grow from their mistakes, instead of the usual enforcement of consequences.
“We commend the Nigeria Football Federation, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and other relevant stakeholders for their support which contributed immensely to the smooth atmosphere for the lads to thrive.”
Amaraizu, who is also the National Coordinator of Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), urged the Golden Eaglets to shift focus to African stage where they would represent West Africa alongside with Burkina Faso in Algeria.
“It is expected to be challenging because that is where tickets to FIFA U-17 World Cup will be picked,” he said.
The administrator urged the handlers to work on the takeaways which the tournament had provided with a view to coming up stronger and better for the task ahead and to continue to thrive.
“The lads should not be carried away but to continually remain focus as this is not yet time to shout uhuru.
“The Golden Eaglets stride is in line with ‘Our Children/Youth Must Thrive Advocacy’ of POCACOV, which is meant for a better society and placing responsiveness and accountability on the upbringing of youths in the country,” he added.