The handlers of the Nigeria U17 team have dismissed as false reports that majority of the key players in the team failed the Magnetic Imaging Resonance test (MRI) which is meant to curb the menace of age cheats at youth levels.
Nigeria are in camp in Abuja ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, which they qualified for by winning the WAFU B championship, which was held in Ghana in style. The coach Nduka Ugabde led team is set for a training tour of Germany.
Reports in the local media suggested that the team has been decimated by the test with as many as ten players who were pivotal in the team winning the U17 WAFU B championship affected by it.
We made checks at the team camp of the team and can authoritatively say the report is false and the team only had their second MRI test yesterday with the results expected to come though later today and tomorrow.
The only result the team have from the test is the one that was held before the team embarked on a break for the general election in Nigeria and all of the starting lineup at the WAFU tournament passed it.
Players who failed it were mostly the new ones scouted during the recently concluded open screening. They were meant to help boost the depth of the team ahead of the AFCON and at no point in time were they seen as regulars.
” You just saw our friendly game and we used nine of our regulars at WAFU. Our back four stays the same even with the goalkeeper, the same as midfielders as you can see. Even in attack, we rested one of our two strikers at WAFU. Where did you hear that devilish report from”, coach of the team Nduka Ugabde fumed when we sort for clarity on the report.
Mohammed Mowiz
