CAF Schools Championship: Nigeria To Battle CIV, Benin In Ouagadougou

Nigeria will tackle teams from Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire in the group stages of the WAFU B zonal qualifiers for this year’s CAF Schools Football Championship. The zonal qualifying tournament will take place in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, this week.

The four-day fiesta will witness competition in both male and female categories, though Nigeria is taking part in only the male event. Group A of the male competition has hosts Burkina Faso, Ghana and Niger Republic, with Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Benin Republic in Group B.

In the female category, hosts Burkina Faso are up against Cote d’Ivoire in the two-team Group A, with Ghana, Benin Republic and Niger Republic in Group B.

On Monday, the Nigeria squad, made up of players from a number of schools that took part in the national competition in Abuja two months ago, will take on their counterparts from Cote d’Ivoire at the Stade August 4 in Ouagadougou, from 11am. On Tuesday, at 9am, the Nigerian school boys will take the pitch against their counterparts from Benin Republic.

Semi-final matches are scheduled for Wednesday while the loser’s final and final matches will be played on Thursday.

The Nigerian contingent, made up of 19 players and six officials, travelled through Lagos and Abidjan before arriving in Ouagadougou on Saturday, and are lodged at the Hotel Splendid in the Burkinabe capital.

The 19 players in the Nigeria team are drawn from the Government Basic Education School, Kaduna; Government Junior Secondary School, Jalingo; Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Ukwu; National Grammar School, Enugu and; Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti. The team is led by Coach Oluwaseun Oyeniyi.