NFF and the big plans for 2013

Super EaglesHaving won the Africa Cup of Nations, target has immediately shifted to the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. Even as we were in South Africa, we retained focus on the World Cup qualifiers. Our next match in the qualifying series comes up on Saturday, 23rd March against Kenya at the UJ Esuene […]

Super Eagles
Having won the Africa Cup of Nations, target has immediately shifted to the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. Even as we were in South Africa, we retained focus on the World Cup qualifiers. Our next match in the qualifying series comes up on Saturday, 23rd March against Kenya at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar.
From the programme submitted by the technical crew, the camping for the home boys will start a few weeks before the foreign-based professionals arrive. The NFF will put all arrangements in place for this, and for the other World Cup qualifiers away to Kenya and Namibia in June, at home to Malawi in September and for the two-leg knock-out against another country in October and November 2013.
Of course, we are also keeping our eyes trained on the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament coming up in Brazil in June. This is only the second time that our country will be participating in the FIFA Confederations Cup. At the first outing in Saudi Arabia in 1995 (when it was still known as Intercontinental Tournament for King Fahd Cup), the Super Eagles finished 4th. Our commitment is to ensure that in Brazil in June, the African champions are fully prepared to overpower the likes of Spain, Uruguay and Tahiti (in the same group) and others in Group A, like Brazil and Italy.
While we work hard on the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the FIFA Confederations Cup, we are also focused on the qualifying series for the African Nations Championship. The African Nations Championship, as you all know, is the Cup of Nations for players based in the domestic Leagues in Africa.
The present NFF is determined to ensure an unprecedented qualification of our team for the final competition, which will also take place in South Africa – our good hunting ground – early next year. Part of the reason for starting the FIFA World Cup qualifying series camping early is to prepare a solid home-based team for this competition, for which we are up against Cote d’Ivoire in the only qualifying fixture in June this year.
It would be a massive accomplishment not only to play at the African Nations Championship for the first time, but to win it and become true champions of Africa at both levels. South Africa has been our good hunting ground since 2010, when the Super Falcons won the African Women Championship. The U-20 Team, Flying Eagles won the African Youth Championship there in May 2011 and the Super Eagles lifted the Africa Cup of Nations there few days ago.
Flying Eagles
You are of course, aware that the Flying Eagles have been in camp for the past one month, and played a number of friendly matches in the southern part of the country. The team is now back in Abuja.
The NFF is resolutely committed to the Flying Eagles retaining the African Youth Championship, which we won in South Africa in 2011, when hostilities commence in Algeria on 16th March.
On Saturday, the Flying Eagles will play against Benin Republic U-20 Team, another finalist at Algeria 2013, in a friendly match in Abuja, and depart this country the following day for Cairo, Egypt. In Egypt, the NFF has arranged that the team play two friendly matches against another Algeria 2013 finalist, Egypt on the 20th and 22nd February. After these, the team will move to Tunisia for a three-week final camping programme before flying into Algeria for the competition.
The Flying Eagles will be adequately prepared to defend the trophy and also qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey (June/July 2013). The NFF has also enlisted the team to play at the world-famous Toulon International Tournament in France in May.
Golden Eaglets
The present set of Golden Eaglets, many agree, remain the future of the Senior National Team, Super Eagles. We are taking their development as priority. At the moment, the team has resumed camping for the first phase of their final programme ahead of the 2013 African U-17 Championship. For this, we are very grateful to the Cross River State Government for commitment and love for these teenagers.
The Eaglets will play two friendly matches against their Botswanan counterparts in Calabar on 3rd and 5th March. Botswana is in Group A of the African U-17 Championship, which will take place in Morocco between 13th – 27th April, 2013. After playing Botswana, the Eaglets will proceed to Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in Qatar for a three-week final training camp before flying into Morocco for the continental showpiece.
We believe the Eaglets will not only qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates (October/November) but win the competition in Morocco.
Super Falcons
You are all aware that there is an urgent need to empanel a new technical crew for the Super Falcons (following the voluntary resignation of Mr. Kadiri Ikhana) and also overhaul the squad. These, we will do as soon as possible. A new technical crew will be put in place to overhaul the team and prepare for the qualifying series for the 2015 FIFA Women World Cup finals, which will take place in Canada.
Before the Women’s World Cup in Canada, the team has to play in the African Women Championship in 2014. We are determined to arrest the decline of this team, following the below-par third place finish in Equatorial Guinea last year.