Nigeria Football Federation first vice-president, Seyi Akinwunmi, has called on Nigerians to forgive the Flying Eagles following the team’s ouster from next year’s U-20 Africa Cup of Nations by Sudan.
Despite winning the first leg 2-1 in Omdurman, the Flying Eagles lost 4-3 in the reverse fixture in Lagos (5-5 on agreggate), to lose out on the away goals rule.
The defeat also means they will not be at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup taking place in South Korea.
According to Akinwunmi, who had appealed to the youngsters to shelve their plan to boycott the match because of owed allowances, the defeat will go a long way in improving the players in future.
“We want to let the players know that sometimes you learn from adversity. I emplore Nigerians to please forgive and understand that it’s a work in progress, they will become champions of the world. Everybody has seen them play. What happened was just a freak,” Akinwunmi said.