Team Nigeria completed their first two weeks of intensive training in a closed camping at the Kwara State Football Academy in Ilorin with Coach Paul Adams Odey who took charge of the training declaring the boys as ready to become champions.
The 18 boys from St. Barnabas LGEA were taking through basic drills including positional play, stamina building and target shooting ahead the 3rd Milo Africa U-13 Football Championship to be hosted in Lagos from May 29-31.
“We completed the camping exercise which was scheduled to last two weeks and the boys have been primed to face any opposition at their level. The important thing is they responded very well to the drills we put them through and this can be seen in the number of friendly matches they played and won”, disclosed Coach Odey.
He also expressed satisfaction with the depth of strength the boys have built up saying, “we put them through three hours of football in one day and it is significant that they played at the same strength and in fact, stronger in the second game and winning both games”.
Coach Odey said though the Ilorin camping program has been completed, he will be working with the boys daily until their departure to the next camping program. “We just have to keep up with the boys so they don’t lose the strength gained in between the period and this we will be doing outside the academy for now”.
The Team Nigeria squad are expected to undergo another camping exercise at the International Football Academy in Wasimi, Ogun State which is run by ex- international and former captain of the Green Eagles, Chief Segun Odegbami (MON).
The Milo African Championship was first held in South Africa with Nigeria’s Ashegun College, Oyo State winning that maiden edition while Ghana hosted and won the second edition edging St. Stephens School, Lagos in the finals. South Africa, Ghana and Kenya make the quartet of nations that send schools champions to the tournament which will be played at the Campos Square Stadium, Lagos Island.
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