The Golden Eaglets and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup-bound Flamingos are lighting up the 22nd National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, Ogun State, adding flair and excitement to Nigeria’s biggest multi-sport event.
Both teams are participating under the innovative Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) initiative, a new concept introduced to give elite junior athletes a platform to compete and develop in a high-performance environment. The IJA programme has been widely praised by sports stakeholders and fans alike.
The five-time world champion Golden Eaglets are competing in a three-team football group and have already secured a spot in the quarter-finals. They opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Edo State on Monday, thanks to goals from Abdulmuiz Adeleke and Mohammed Imrana, and followed it up with a 0-0 draw against Delta State on Tuesday.
The Flamingos, also part of the IJA contingent, are preparing for the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, using the National Sports Festival as a vital tune-up to fine-tune their squad and test their readiness against strong competition.
The presence of these elite youth teams has brought added attention and credibility to the NSF, with fans and analysts applauding the opportunity for talent exposure and experience at such a large-scale event.
