A former director-general of National Sports Commission (NSC), Patrick Ekeji has warned the federal government against awarding national honours on members of the victorious Golden Eaglets.
Golden Eaglets celebrate after defeating Mexico in the semi-final of the ongoing U-17 world cup
According to the former coach and player, the Golden Eaglets need to be mentored as the junior tournament they recently won was supposed to serve as the basis for a future career in football.
Speaking to journalists in Owerri on Tuesday, Ekeji asked why many who start well at junior tournaments find it hard to have long and successful career’s in football. He urged the government to secure the future of the young lads through mentorship.
He said: “Government should rather secure the future of the players through mentorship rather than awarding them the national honours.
“The whole idea of the age group championship is to bring the young players together in a sporting environment to showcase their talents. “We should be more worried about the future of these young talents and not to confer National honours on them.”
In a related development, members of the Golden Eaglets have begun lamenting how the Nigeria Football Federation has maltreated them since returning from Chile where they won the 2015 FIFA U-17 world cup.
Sources who spoke to Naij.com revealed each player is owed N1.5 million (almost USD8,000) and a total of 21 players were taken to the tournament. The NFF has run into a debt that is almost thirty-two million naira, N31,800,000 equivalent to USD160,000.
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