Ambassador Endoni urges Golden Eaglets to lift WAFU-B U17 Championship

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, His Excellency Ambassador Syndoph Paebi Endoni, has challenged the Golden Eaglets to win the WAFU-B U17 Championship for the millions of football supporters in Nigeria and around the world.

Ambassador Endoni delivered the message during a dinner held for the team and its officials at the Nigerian Embassy in Ouagadougou on Friday evening, ahead of the competition’s opening this Saturday.

The Golden Eaglets will begin their campaign against Niger Republic on Wednesday, with the ambassador urging the players to embrace the responsibility of representing their country.

“I welcome you to the Nigeria House in Ouagadougou, the Embassy of Nigeria in this country. There are millions of young footballers waiting for this opportunity to represent Nigeria,” Ambassador Endoni said.

“You have come here to represent Nigeria. I therefore charge you to fly Nigeria’s flag higher and higher. Win for us. Win for the millions of football-loving Nigerians all over the world.”

Endoni, who said he was a former basketball player and the founder of Royal Hoopers Basketball Club in Port Harcourt, which later became Rivers Hoopers, told the players they must respond quickly if they made mistakes during matches.

“You may make mistakes on the pitch, but you must correct them immediately and ensure that you win all your games,” he said.

The ambassador also linked the development of young footballers with Nigeria’s wider efforts to steer young people away from criminality.

“We are a blessed country. We are united, and we are a very strong nation. We must get it right from the scratch, using these young footballers as good examples,” he said.

“Nigeria will continue to be strong when we encourage these young ones to take their minds off criminality, and football is key in this regard.”

The Golden Eaglets have also been promised strong backing from Nigerians living in Burkina Faso throughout the tournament.

Endoni said thousands of Nigerians were resident in the country and that he would work to mobilise the community to attend the matches and support the team from the stands.

“I want to assure you that Nigerians here will be at the stadium to support the team. We have thousands of Nigerians in this country,” he said.

“The Nigerian community will give the team huge support in all its matches in the championship.”