The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) confirmed that players and officials of the U-15 Future Eagles were denied visas by the Spanish Embassy for the upcoming UEFA U-16 Development Tournament.
The NFF made this announcement on their verified social media platform.
⚠️ Players and officials of the Nigeria U15 team, Future Eagles, have been denied visas by the Spanish Embassy and will therefore not be travelling to take part in the UEFA U16 Development Tournament starting on Friday.
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) April 8, 2024
Scheduled to fly to Spain this Afternoon (Tuesday), the team’s participation in the tournament was thwarted by the visa denial.
The NFF had earlier highlighted Nigeria’s impressive track record in youth football, including five world titles at the U-17 level and two FIFA U-20 World Cup final appearances, as the basis for the special invitation to the tournament.
The Future Eagles’ delegation to Spain, inclusive of 20 players, was to be led by a member of the NFF Technical and Development Committee, Mr. Mohammed Malah.