Nigeria’s U-17 national team, the Golden Eaglets, departed for China on Thursday night to compete in the 2026 China International Youth Football Tournament, which will be held in Yinchuan from July 5 to 11.
The five-time FIFA U-17 World Cup champions will face hosts China, Australia and Tanzania in the four-team invitational competition.
All matches will be played at the Yinchuan Sports Centre Helanshan Stadium.
The tournament is hosted by the Chinese Football Association, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Administration of Sport and the Yinchuan Municipal People’s Government.
It is organised by the Ningxia Football Association in partnership with the Yinchuan Sports Bureau, while the China Football Industry Development Corporation serves as the tournament promoter.
Head coach Uwejamomere Eboboritse will lead a 20-man squad to the tournament, with Kalli Mohammed Kachalla and Abdullahi Isa serving as his assistants.
The competition is a key part of the Golden Eaglets’ preparations for the 2026 WAFU B U-17 Championship in September, which doubles as the qualifying tournament for the 2027 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria will be aiming to fine-tune the squad and build momentum ahead of the crucial regional qualifiers.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
