Sand Eagles’ Ghana Clash Looms As 20 Players Hit Kaduna Camp
The Sand Eagles have stepped up preparations for next month’s CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Ghana, with all 20 invited players now in camp in Kaduna.
The team has been undergoing tactical and technical drills for the past week at the Murtala Muhammed Square Sports Complex under the supervision of assistant 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.
Nigeria will host Ghana’s Black Sharks in the first leg of the qualifying tie in Kaduna on Saturday, October 10, with the return leg scheduled for Accra on Saturday, October 17.
The Sand Eagles returned to the international beach soccer scene two years ago after several years away but narrowly missed out on qualification for the CAF Beach Soccer AFCON hosted by Seychelles, losing to Mauritania on the away-goals rule.
Nigeria and Ghana will now battle for a place at this year’s CAF Beach Soccer AFCON finals in Senegal.
The finals are scheduled for October 7 to 15, with the winner of the two-legged qualifying tie earning a ticket to the tournament.
As part of their preparations, the Nigeria Football Federation has also approached the Senegalese Football Federation to arrange friendly matches between the Sand Eagles and the perennial African champions.
The 20 players currently in camp are:
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).
