Nigeria to play Burkina Faso in U-17 AFCON qualifiers

NFF sends fresh team list after MRI failures

Nigeria will meet Burkina Faso in their opening game of the WAFU B Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualifiers, which kicks off on May 15 at the University of Ghana Stadium, Accra.

In the fixtures released by the WAFU B secretariat yesterday, hosts, Ghana, will kick off the tournament with a game against Cote d’Ivoire on May 15. Champions, Nigeria, will enter the fray against Burkina Faso on May 16 before Togo takes on Niger on the same day.

The WAFU Zone B U-17 Cup of Nations is scheduled for the University of Ghana Stadium from May 15 to 29, 2024. Reigning champions Nigeria, host Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Niger, Togo and Burkina Faso will vie for the title and a ticket to the next edition of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

Meanwhile, with a few days to the kick-off of the tournament, Coach Manu Garba is said to have raised a new team after most of the boys he had earlier depended on for the event failed the mandatory MRI test.

Although no official response has been made by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the development, most of those affected players were said to be in the main team.

A source said that the NFF has sent a provisional list to the WAFU B secretariat ahead of the competition. Nigeria won the tournament in 2022 but failed to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.