Gumba, Gaya Rally Behind Golden Eaglets

Top stakeholders in sports at the National Assembly are backing the Golden Eaglets' bid to wrest the African Under-17 title for the third time when they square-up against Cote d'Ivoire on Saturday at the Grande Stade de Marrakech.

Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba, chairman, Senate Committee on sports and social Development who watched the Golden Eaglets 4-2 victory against Tunisia on Tuesday, said he's confident that the Nigerian lads would come well on Saturday.

“We are here to support the team and motivate them to the country proud," explained Gumba.
“I have watched these boys several times on television and I was really impressed."

He added: “Frankly, they deserve commendation for reaching the finale of this championship and we have implored them to put up their best on Saturday against Cote d’Ivoire and we pray that God crown their efforts.”

His opposite number in the House of Representatives, Godfrey Gaiya, equally spoke in the same vein, saying the Golden Eaglets have done well so far but need extra vigour to beat Cote d’Ivoire.

The Baby Elephants  defeated the  Golden Eaglets  1-0 in their earlier Group B fixture but Gaiya said  what he  has in the last few days in the team’s camp gave him cause for optimism.

“Apart from seeing the boys during the match against Tunisia, I was at their training session and I'm quite impressed about their commitment," he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Embassy in Morocco has fine tune arrangement to bring some Nigerians to the stadium to lend their support to the Golden Eaglets on Saturday. 

The country’s Ambassador to Morocco, Senator Abdallah Wali has promised to be at the stands to cheer the boys to victory.

“By the grace of God, we shall be in Marrakech on Saturday and we pray
that God bless all the efforts of the team against Cote d’Ivoire,” he
said.