Nigeria’s 20 invited Sand Eagles players are now in camp in Kaduna as preparations intensify for their CAF Beach Soccer AFCON qualifying tie against Ghana’s Black Sharks.
The team has spent the past week working on tactical and technical drills at the Murtala Muhammed Square Sports Complex under coach Christopher Kadiri.
Head coach Abdullahi Isa is currently with the Golden Eaglets, who are preparing for next month’s WAFU-B U17 Championship in Ouagadougou. Kadiri is overseeing the Sand Eagles’ preparations in his absence.
Nigeria will host Ghana in Kaduna on Saturday, 10th October, before travelling to Accra for the second leg on Saturday, 17th October.
The winner of the two-match tie will qualify for this year’s CAF Beach Soccer AFCON finals, scheduled to take place in Senegal from 7th – 15th October.
Nigeria returned to the international beach soccer scene two years ago after several years away from the sport. However, their return ended in disappointment when they were eliminated by Mauritania on the away-goal rule during qualifying for that year’s CAF Beach Soccer AFCON, which was hosted by Seychelles.
The Nigeria Football Federation has also contacted Federation Senegalaise de Football to request a couple of friendly matches against the perennial African champions. The proposed games would form part of the Sand Eagles’ preparations for their double-header against Ghana.
Sand Eagles squad
Goalkeepers: Godwin Tale (Kada BSC); Nuhu Noma Aiki (Kebbi BSC); Olalekan Oladipo (Kada BSC).
Defenders: Victor Tale (Kada BSC); Taiwo Adams (Kebbi BSC); Emmanuel Ohwoferia (Kebbi BSC); Clement Eganosi (Anambra BSC); Effiong Eyo (Ibom BSC); Chinweze Gabriel (Anambra BSC).
Forwards: Dozie Frank (Kada BSC); Stanley Ekwe (Anambra BSC); Tanko Emmanuel (Kada BSC); Ekene Obi (Kebbi BSC); Hassan Abubakar (Niger BSC); Sadiq Umar (Kebbi BSC); Kazeem Oyewunmi (Igbogbo BSC); Hassan Abdullahi (Kebbi BSC); Godspower Igudia (Edo BSC); (Kebbi BSC); Hamza Bagudu (Jigawa BSC); Hamza Isa (Kebbi BSC).