Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets depart for Morocco for AYC

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will on Wednesday leave Lagos for Morocco for the 10th U-17 Africa Youth Championship (AYC) billed for April 13 to 27 in Morocco.

A statement by Ademola Olajire, the Assistant Director (Media) of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) on Tuesday said the team would fly into Casablanca aboard Royal Air Maroc airplane.

The team returned from Doha, Qatar, on April 7 from a three-week training tour at Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence.

“The team, which returned from a three-week final training programme at the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, Qatar on Sunday, will fly into Casablanca aboard a Royal Air Maroc airplane.

“From there, they will move to Marrakech, venue of their Group B matches,’’ the statement said.

The statement added that the tournament organisers would take over responsibility for the care of the Nigerian squad after landing in Casablanca on Wednesday.

It said the team would on April 12, participate in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging examination to be conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on all participating teams.

The Golden Eaglets are drawn in Group B with Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and Congo Brazaville.

The competition opens on Saturday afternoon with hosts Morocco taking on Gabon at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca while Tunisia take on championship debutants Botswana.

The Golden Eaglets would engage Ghana in Marrakech on Sunday evening, after Cote D’Ivoire and Congo-Brazzaville encounter at the same venue.

The Eaglets will also play Cote D’Ivoire on April 17 and Congo-Brazzaville on April 20 in the last group phase.