Eaglets at training today in Dubai
The Golden Eaglets arrived Dubai in the early hours of Tuesday into the waiting hands of His Excellency, Alhaji Ibrahim Auwalu-the
Nigerian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Ambassador Auwalu had earlier breezed into town from his base in Abu
Dhabi( the capital of the UAE) to meet the National Under-17 team and their officials that touched down at 7:20am local time(4:20 am
Nigerian time ) aboard Emirates Airline B777-300ER that departed Lagos earlier at 9pm on Monday.
“I think we are lucky to have so many people who are committed to our cause within and outside Nigeria,” Tayo Egbaiyelo, the Golden Eaglets’
administrator said while formally introducing Ambassador Auwalu.
“Just before our departure in Lagos, we were fortunate to meet the Sports Minister, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi and here today, we have the
representative of President Goodluck Jonathan to welcome us to the UAE. These are not just mere coincidences and we know Nigerians are expecting so much from us.”
The amiable Ambassador Auwalu afterwards finally welcomed the team to the oil-rich UAE even as he revealed that the Nigerian Embassy had
been in constant touch with the top echelon of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) including President Aminu Maigari and the General
Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu hence the seamless transition of the team from Lagos to Dubai.
Said he: It’s a great honour to welcome you to Dubai with my colleagues at the Embassy and we actually had to drive as early as
possible from Abu Dhabi in order to receive you.
“I have been assured that we have a very good team and be assured of our support right through to the end of this championship. We shall
continue to pray and give you all the moral support and we hope you would make Nigeria proud by becoming the first to win the trophy
fourth time.”
On the entourage of Ambassador Auwalu were key staff at the Nigerian House in Abu Dhabi including Mr. Edward Kogbara; Mrs,Cornelia Umoh’
Mr. Zakariy Usman and protocol officer, Mr. Paul Onwuemene . The quartet would later follow the Golden Eaglets to Hotel Jawharia which
would be their new abode as they fine tune preparations for the 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
Eaglets begin training in earnest
The Golden Eaglets have resumed training regimen on Tuesday upon their arrival in Dubai on a two- week camping before the kick off of the
2013 FIFA Under-17 Champions slated for October 17 to November 8,
Head coach Manu Garba(MFR) said there was no time to waste since the kickoff of the 15th edition of the global cadet competition is
fast approaching, adding that it was important for the players to shake off jet lag occasioned by their traveling from Calabar to
Lagos on Monday before embarking on another seven-hour nonstop flight from Lagos to Dubai.
All the 25 players trained on Tuesday’s evening at the pitch of Higher Colleges of Technology located within the Dubai Academic City
under a fine weather condition of 29°C with good visibility throughout the duration of about two hours training that started
4:30pm local time (1:30pm Nigerian time).
“It is good we started today,” Coach Manu Garba said. “This is important because we had our last training session on Saturday morning
in Calabar; so it’s good we start conditioning ourselves to our new environment.”
The Golden Eaglets are expected to train henceforth twice daily with variations as occasion demands before their departure to the city of
Al-Ain which is about one hour and thirty minutes from Dubai by flight for their preliminary group matches against Mexico and Iraq on October
19 and 22. The team’s last match against Sweden would take place in Dubai on October 25.
Nigerian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Ambassador Auwalu had earlier breezed into town from his base in Abu
Dhabi( the capital of the UAE) to meet the National Under-17 team and their officials that touched down at 7:20am local time(4:20 am
Nigerian time ) aboard Emirates Airline B777-300ER that departed Lagos earlier at 9pm on Monday.
“I think we are lucky to have so many people who are committed to our cause within and outside Nigeria,” Tayo Egbaiyelo, the Golden Eaglets’
administrator said while formally introducing Ambassador Auwalu.
“Just before our departure in Lagos, we were fortunate to meet the Sports Minister, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi and here today, we have the
representative of President Goodluck Jonathan to welcome us to the UAE. These are not just mere coincidences and we know Nigerians are expecting so much from us.”
The amiable Ambassador Auwalu afterwards finally welcomed the team to the oil-rich UAE even as he revealed that the Nigerian Embassy had
been in constant touch with the top echelon of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) including President Aminu Maigari and the General
Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu hence the seamless transition of the team from Lagos to Dubai.
Said he: It’s a great honour to welcome you to Dubai with my colleagues at the Embassy and we actually had to drive as early as
possible from Abu Dhabi in order to receive you.
“I have been assured that we have a very good team and be assured of our support right through to the end of this championship. We shall
continue to pray and give you all the moral support and we hope you would make Nigeria proud by becoming the first to win the trophy
fourth time.”
On the entourage of Ambassador Auwalu were key staff at the Nigerian House in Abu Dhabi including Mr. Edward Kogbara; Mrs,Cornelia Umoh’
Mr. Zakariy Usman and protocol officer, Mr. Paul Onwuemene . The quartet would later follow the Golden Eaglets to Hotel Jawharia which
would be their new abode as they fine tune preparations for the 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
Eaglets begin training in earnest
The Golden Eaglets have resumed training regimen on Tuesday upon their arrival in Dubai on a two- week camping before the kick off of the
2013 FIFA Under-17 Champions slated for October 17 to November 8,
Head coach Manu Garba(MFR) said there was no time to waste since the kickoff of the 15th edition of the global cadet competition is
fast approaching, adding that it was important for the players to shake off jet lag occasioned by their traveling from Calabar to
Lagos on Monday before embarking on another seven-hour nonstop flight from Lagos to Dubai.
All the 25 players trained on Tuesday’s evening at the pitch of Higher Colleges of Technology located within the Dubai Academic City
under a fine weather condition of 29°C with good visibility throughout the duration of about two hours training that started
4:30pm local time (1:30pm Nigerian time).
“It is good we started today,” Coach Manu Garba said. “This is important because we had our last training session on Saturday morning
in Calabar; so it’s good we start conditioning ourselves to our new environment.”
The Golden Eaglets are expected to train henceforth twice daily with variations as occasion demands before their departure to the city of
Al-Ain which is about one hour and thirty minutes from Dubai by flight for their preliminary group matches against Mexico and Iraq on October
19 and 22. The team’s last match against Sweden would take place in Dubai on October 25.
admin
