Duro Ikhazuagbe
6 November 2008
Lagos — Nigeria's Under-20 team were yesterday drawn along with Togo, Benin Republic and Guinea Bissau in Group A of the maiden West African Football Union (WAFU) tournament for junior players in the sub-region.
As the top most team by FIFA ranking, Nigeria was seeded along with Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali at the head of the four different groups. Nigeria is to open her campaign at the Oghara Stadium in Delta.
While some football buffs at the Ocean-view Restaurant venue of the draws were happy, most others were of the view that recent developments that made Benin to edge out the Golden Eaglets from qualifying to defend their African title was enough reason for caution.
However, Group B at the J J Okocha Stadium in Ogwashi-ukwu with Ghana, Senegal, Gambia and Guinea appears the most difficult while Cote d'Ivoire is likely going to have an easy party in their Group C pairing also having the likes of Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Mauritania.
Group D to play in Oleh have Mali, Niger and Liberia. The fourth team, Cape Verde withdrew from the competition last week after initially showing interests in the revamped WAFU tourney.
Speaking at the draws and logo unveiling ceremony in Lagos yesterday, WAFU President Dr. Amos Adamu said that the regional body opted to kick-start the new regime with a youth tournament because the future of the game lies with them.
He commended the Delta state government for accepting to host the championship. Also, African Independent Television, the broadcast partner of the body is to transmit all the games of the championship with support also coming from adidas.
Pinnick Amaju, a member of the LOC, who is also head of Delta State Sports Commission, said his state offered to host the event as a way of test-running its facilities ahead of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup it is going to host next year.
However, yesterday's ceremony was almost marred by mix-up in the various pots to pick the teams from. The protocol arm of the body placed empty balls in some of the bowls while the order of selecting the various cedes was also fraught with poor arrangement.
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