Ugbade Dreams Making History as First U17 Winner and Coach

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Golden Eaglets coach, Nduka Ugbade, is dreaming of going into history books as the first coach to win the FIFA U17 World Cup as both player and coach.

To make that dream a reality, Ugbade’s primary aim at the  2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria is to pick one of the available World Cup tickets.

The Golden Eaglets are in Group B with Zambia, Morocco and South Africa.

The Nigerian cadet team are scheduled to kick off their campaign against Zambia on April 30.

Ugbade captained Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets to win the inaugural FIFA Under-16 World Cup in China in 1985 and also picked a silver medal at the U20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 1989 before capping his illustrious playing career with an AFCON 1994 gold medal. 

Speaking in a video posted on NFF’s Twitter handle on Wednesday, Ugbade disclosed that his wards will do everything possible to emerge championship Algeria and claim one of the tickets to the cadet World Cup later in the year.

“We had the MRI with 100 per cent clearance for our players,” began Ugbade who admitted that the “hospitality of the Algerian people has been wonderful.” 

He recalled how Eaglets breezed past all opposition in Ghana to claim the WAFU B title. “We’ve been preparing for the past 10 months and we’ve done so good in Ghana (WAFU B qualifiers). We did very well, coming first and winning the trophy.

With five U17 World Cup win for Nigeria, Ugbade believes the 2023 class of Eaglets have no reason not to emulate the likes of Kelechi Nwakali, Sunday Awoniyi, Kelechi Iheanacho and most recently, Victor Osimhen.

“And as you know Nigeria has participated in World Cup competitions at this level and I was the first in the world to be captain of Nigeria that won it for the first time in China 1985. Our aim is to at least qualify for the World Cup and win the trophy if possible.”

The 2023 U-17 AFCON will be held in Algeria between April 29 and May 19.