By Boluwatife Kehinde
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have been drawn in Group B of the 2025 WAFU B U-17 Championship, where they will face Burkina Faso and the Benin Republic.
The draw, conducted on Thursday in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, also confirmed the host nation will stage the competition from 20 September to 3 October.
Group A features hosts Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger Republic and Togo. The tournament doubles as the qualifying event for the 2025 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, which Nigeria failed to reach in the last edition.
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Determined to make amends, coach Manu Garba has intensified preparations with his young squad. The team has already played 12 friendly matches, winning 10, drawing once and losing only once.
Their most recent warm-up ended in a commanding 3-0 win over Ejigbo City, underlining their readiness for the challenge ahead.
The Golden Eaglets remain the most successful side in world youth football, having won the FIFA U-17 World Cup a record five times and finished runners-up on three occasions.
On the continental stage, they are two-time Africa U-17 champions, with their last triumph in 2007.
Nigeria also boasts a strong pedigree in the WAFU B U-17 Championship. In 2022, they stormed to the title in Ghana, defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the final with Abubakar Abdullahi netting both goals.
Along the way, they convincingly dispatched Ghana, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. Five players earned places in the tournament’s Best XI, while coach Nduka Ugbade was named Coach of the Tournament.
Although the Eaglets could not defend their crown in 2024, they still finished on the podium. After a semi-final defeat to Côte d’Ivoire, they bounced back to beat Ghana 3-2 in a thrilling third-place match.
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Forward Abdulmuiz Adeleke shone as the standout performer, scoring four goals, including a dramatic late winner in the bronze-medal clash.
These achievements highlight Nigeria’s consistency at the youth level. With momentum from their strong build-up and a hunger to return to the continental stage, the Golden Eaglets head into the 2025 WAFU B U-17 Championship as serious contenders.
