Imama Amapakabo, Head Coach of the national under-23 male football team, on Friday assured that his team’s preparations for the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were in top gear.
Amapakabo told newsmen after the team’s training session in Abuja that all efforts were being made to ensure the team evolves as necessary.
While admitting that having with him in camp only one foreign-based player could be a drawback, the coach expressed the hope that more players would soon be joining the camp.
“Right now, we have in camp with us one (Kelechi Nwakali) out of the three foreign-based players invited and we are hopefully expecting the others to arrive at the camp within the next few days.
“But their early arrival will enable us to get a clearer picture of our preparations for the competition,’’ he said.
Amapakabo said he and his technical crew colleagues were not unaware of the nature of opposition ahead of them at the Under-23 AFCON in Egypt in November.
“We know the kind of games we are preparing for, and we believe that it is going to be tough, but we have been preparing as we should,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Under-23 AFCON, now in its third edition, is scheduled for Nov. 8 to Nov. 22 in Egypt.
The top three teams at the event will qualify for the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Nigeria will open their campaign against Cote d’Ivoire on Nov. 9 in Cairo, before taking on Zambia on Nov. 12 and South Africa on Nov. 15.
All the matches are expected to hold at the Al Salam Stadium.
The Super Eagles assistant coach acknowledged that there were no longer easy teams in football and neither of the groups at the competition was also not difficult.
“We know that there are three tickets available in Egypt, and also that every game is key. Every game is very important and we want to take it as seriously as we possibly can,’’ he said.
The coach however pointed out that they even needed to perform well, as qualifying for the Olympics has become something in the form of a birthright for the country.
“In this regard, we want to ensure we maintain the status quo by getting the desired result to qualify, ” he said.
Amapakabo allayed fears that many of the country’s foreign-based stars who are eligible for the Olympics qualifying competition may not be released by their clubs.
He said he was unperturbed by the situation, as the tournament does not fall within the FIFA-free window.
“Part of my responsibility is to find a way round any obstacle or challenge faced by the team.
“It is the big picture going forward, to try to put this team together in preparation for the big stage, because we knew that it was going to be a challenge for us to have some of these players.
“We are going to be having the FIFA windows and some of the clubs just want to release their players for just those open windows which is not going to be right for us.
“This is because the players in question will only be available to play maybe two games and that will be it. But we are trying to put in place a contingency plan.
“However, getting these players together to play as a unit and as a team can be a bit challenging sometimes, and it is my responsibility to find a way around the obstacle in front of me and I will try my best as much as possible to do so,’’ the coach said.(NAN)