Golden Eaglets coach Eboboritse Uwejamomere asked Nigerians for forgiveness after a 1-1 draw with Côte d’Ivoire ended the team’s WAFU B U-17 campaign. Nigeria will miss the 2027 U-17 AFCON and World Cup.
Want our football coverage to show up first?
Add FootballInNigeria as a preferred source and our stories get a "Preferred" badge in your Google Top Stories, AI Overviews, and AI Mode results.
Golden Eaglets coach Eboboritse Uwejamomere has asked Nigerians to forgive his team after their group-stage exit from the 2026 WAFU B U-17 Championship in Burkina Faso. The five-time world champions will miss the 2027 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Nigeria needed a win over Côte d’Ivoire in Ouagadougou on Saturday to reach the semi finals, but could only draw 1-1. They had lost 2-1 to Niger in their opening game, so one point was never going to be enough. Niger and Côte d’Ivoire went through from Group B.
Missing the continental finals also means no place at the 2027 U-17 World Cup. Nigeria last played at that tournament in 2019. Supporters who back Nigerian sides can check the YOHAIG promo code ahead of the next fixtures.
Uwejamomere said his first feelings were unhappiness and disappointment. “We are unhappy and very disappointed overall,” he said, and he acknowledged that missing next year’s AFCON is the bigger picture.
He asked for perspective on the players, who are 15 and 16 years old. Uwejamomere called the tournament the first chapter of their careers in elite football, and he wants them to treat it as a lesson.
He also accepted that supporters are hurting. Fans are proud Nigerians who expect wins in every tournament, he said, and he understands why many of them are angry with the team right now. He asked them to forgive the squad, adding that he and his players feel the same disappointment.
That plea comes with a harder truth attached. This is the third straight year Nigeria has failed to get through WAFU B, after exits in 2024 and 2025. New to betting on Nigerian football? Bet9ja’s welcome offer details are a good place to start.
The coach’s message to his players, learn from this and move on, is the right one for teenagers. The tougher questions belong to the federation, which has now watched three age grade cycles end the same way.
The pressure now shifts to the NFF and the next cycle. Fans will want answers on scouting, preparation and the support given to the squad.
Readers curious about how betting offers work can read what a Bet9ja promotion code is before placing any bets.
📌 Did You Know?
- Nigeria won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015.
- Group B had only three teams, so Nigeria did not play until Wednesday, October 14, three days after Niger and Côte d’Ivoire drew 1-1.
- Niger took the lead in the 19th minute of the opener and finished the group with four points, with Saminou Salissou Nouhou named Man of the Match.
- Group A at the tournament featured Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana and Togo.
- In 2024, Côte d’Ivoire beat the Golden Eaglets 1-0 in the semi finals to end Nigeria’s hopes of reaching that year’s U-17 AFCON.
- In 2025, Ghana beat Nigeria 2-0 in the semi-finals, and the Golden Eaglets then beat Burkina Faso 2-0 to finish third.
