Thousands of sports fans
in Abuja on Wednesday converged on the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport to welcome the
2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup champions, Golden Eaglets.
The Eaglets won the title
in Chile on Sunday after defeating Mail 2-0 in the final match, for Nigeria’s
fifth title win.
The fans cheered lustily
as the players and their officials disembarked from the plane which brought
them from Lagos, where they had earlier been received on arrival from Chile.
The Eaglets were later
taken in a motorcade on a road show on some major streets of Abuja metropolis.
Director-General of the
National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhassan Yakmut, while welcoming the Eaglets
at the airport, had said the players have further entrenched Nigeria on the
world football map.
He said this was by
Nigeria setting the record of winning the title back-to-back, after having won
in 2013 in the UAE.
``The boys have put us
above other countries in Africa and in the world, since they are the first
country to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup back-to-back, and this is why we are
celebrating.
``Nigeria is the best
country and that is why we are celebrating this arrival,’’ Yakmut said.
He added that President
Muhammadu Buhari, who returned to the country’s helm of affairs on May 29, has come
with lots of good luck for the country.
``President Buhari is one
president that comes with lots of luck for this country.
``In the last three
weeks, it has been sports successes for us across the whole world in every
sports Nigeria participated in, and we are looking forward to more,'' Yakmut
said.
He disclosed that the
Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalong, would host the Eaglets to a
dinner later in the day at the Transcorp Hilton.
Yakmut said President
Buhari would later receive the Eaglets on a date to be fixed later.(NAN)
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