Nigeria Content Online

Ahmed Musa, is
without a doubt, the biggest name in the Flying Eagles team to the
African Youth Championships (AYC) in South Africa, and justifiably so,
following his achievements over the past couple of years.

Last season, while
still playing for Nigerian club side Kano Pillars, the speedy VVV Venlo
of Holland forward finished as the top scorer of the Nigerian Premier
League with a record 18 goals.

He also played a
key role in Nigeria’s Super Eagles ‘B’ team’s successful march to
victory at the WAFU Cup decided last April on Nigerian soil, and has
since then gone on to gather a handful of caps for the main Super
Eagles team, grabbing a goal in Nigeria’s recent 3-0 success over Kenya
in Abuja.

Musa, thus arrives
at the AYC, along with Flying Eagles teammates Terna Suswam and Stanley
Okoro, as one of a handful of players who have already been capped at
senior level by their respective national teams.

But even his
participation at the AYC remains uncertain, despite assurances from the
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that the 19-year-old will be released
by his Dutch club, who are desperately fighting against relegation from
the top flight division, for the AYC.

According to
information made available to NEXT by the NFF on Thursday, Musa will be
arriving South Africa today ahead of tomorrow’s game against Ghana.

Flying Eagles coach John Obuh also confirmed this to NEXT prior to his team’s departure for the tournament.

“That was also the information I got and it is a welcome development because he is crucial to our plans,” he said.

He added: “His teammates are already looking forward to seeing him.”

It won’t be Musa’s
first time playing under Obuh in the Flying Eagles team as he had
featured in some of the team’s pre-AYC qualification games.

But even as his
teammates await his arrival later today, he won’t be available for the
entire duration of the tournament, as he will only get to play the
opening two games against Ghana and Cameroun before returning to
Holland to play for Venlo, thus missing next Sunday’s game against
Gambia.

Obuh however hopes
qualification for the semifinals, along with a spot at this year’s FIFA
World Cup in Colombia, would have been secured by then.

“I guess that is the option available to us but we hope to have qualified for the semi-finals before our last match,” he added.