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FIFA Under 17 Championship: Matters Arising.
By Toyin | August 22, 2009
Having been finally cleared by FIFA to host the under 17 competition, millions of fans all over the country heaved sighs of relieve that a least our sports administrators have not connived to shame the country once again. Eight stadia were chosen out of the 12 that were put forward and Jack Warner particularly praised the quality of the one in Bauchi for meeting and surpassing all expectations and requirements.
Unfortunately for Delta state government, the billions spent to upgrade the Warri township stadium in preparation for FIFA endorsement failed to make the cut. I’m sure this has to do with the precarious security situation in that part of the country. Surprisingly, Kano made the list and I felt that was a bit farfetched bearing in mind the state of the pitch the last time I saw it on TV during a champions league match involving the home team, Kano Pillars.
Having said this, I can confidently say that Nigeria would deliver a world class event and FIFA won’t regret the decision to award us the hosting right. Just as we delivered the facilities at the last minute and met FIFA’s expectation, we would meet and surpass the set targets in hosting the championship.
The players are already insured by a new generation insurance company, International Energy Insurance Plc to the tune of a million dollars and Glo, as usual has stepped in big time. The other corporate titans are sure to come on board big time to make Nigeria proud and earn us a huge respect from the international community. Ours is a country that excels when written off and this occasion presents us a great opportunity to prove to the world that we can get it right in big occasions.
As a marker to our preparation, the sports ministry and the football federation organized a well executed draw for the tournament. As I watched the event, I felt a sense of pride that this was taking place in my country. I was happy to see Victor Ikpeba and Mercy Akide play prominent roles beside Jack Warner and FIFA’s general secretary, Jerome Valcke in grouping the teams. For once, we allowed our politicians to take the back bench!
Aishat Falode acquainted herself well as one of the hosts even though I couldn’t say the same for her partner, Ohi Alegbe, who I felt was trying to show that he was a better compere than the CAF media committee member. All in all, I felt that we didn’t do badly in that even save for the over politicization that happened towards the end when virtually everyone in the hall had to come on stage to take photographs with BOBO, the mascot for the tournament.
And so Nigeria was grouped alongside Germany, Argentina and Honduras. Having won the titles three times and being the defending champions, we are hot favourites for the home run again. I just hope we won’t disappoint.
The groups are capture below for your attention. Let’s come back again after the group matches to see and discuss how the teams have fared. Cheers!
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Group A |
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Team |
MP |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Group B |
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Team |
MP |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Group C |
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Team |
MP |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Group D |
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Team |
MP |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Group E |
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Team |
MP |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Group F |
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Team |
MP |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Topics: Biz Football, Nigerian Football, Who Will Win |
August 23rd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Our sports administrators did well this time around to have gotten to this stage. I however hope that the allegations of fraud in hosting this event is investigated to allow future transparency and accountability.
September 8th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
pls sir, i will like to be a part of the voluntary workers durning the under 17 competition. please help me out.