All 20 players selected for Nigeria’s crucial CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tie against Ghana are now in camp in Kaduna.
The Sand Eagles have spent the past week training at the Murtala Muhammed Square Sports Complex, where they have been working through intensive tactical and technical sessions under the supervision of Coach Christopher Kadiri.
Head Coach Abdullahi Isa is currently with the U17 Boys National Team, the Golden Eaglets, as they prepare for next month’s WAFU-B U17 Championship in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Nigeria will face Ghana’s Black Sharks in the first leg in Kaduna on Saturday, 10 October. The return fixture will take place in Accra one week later, on Saturday, 17 October.
The two-legged tie carries a place at this year’s CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations finals, scheduled to hold in Senegal from 7 to 15 October. The winner of the contest between Nigeria and Ghana will qualify for the tournament.
Nigeria returned to the international beach soccer scene two years ago after a prolonged absence, but narrowly missed qualification for the CAF Beach Soccer AFCON finals hosted by Seychelles.
The Sand Eagles were eliminated by Mauritania on the away-goals rule.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is also in talks with the Federation Senegalaise de Football about the possibility of arranging two friendly matches between the Sand Eagles and the Senegalese national team.
The proposed games would provide Nigeria with further match exposure and allow the team to refine its preparations before the decisive qualifier against the Black Sharks.
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); Hamza Bagudu (Jigawa BSC); Hamza Isa (Kebbi BSC)