Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets crashed out of the under 17 AFCON 2023 after falling 2-1 to fellow West Africans Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals in Algiers.

The result meant the Golden Eaglets won’t feature in the under 17 World Cup that would take place later this year, with Burkina Faso completing the quartet of teams to represent Africa in the tournament.

The other teams are Senegal, Mali and Morocco.

The Nigerians have their poor finishing skills and defensive blunders to blame for the result.

The Junior Stallions went into a 2-0 lead over the five-time world champions courtesy of Aboubacar Camara.

He first found the back of the net from a rebound just before half time before completing his brace on 57 minutes from the penalty spot after a goal-bound Burkinabe player was fouled inside the box.

Abubakar Abdullahi, however, pulled one back for Nigeria midway through the second half with a simple tap in giving the Eaglets a hope of comeback.

But it was not to be as the young Nigerians failed to convert any chance in front of goal to pull level.

Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Zambia, and Benin-Nigeria want to replace Guinea as hosts of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, CAF president Patrice Motsepe confirmed on Saturday.

Guinea, chosen in 2014 to stage the premier African national team tournament, withdrew last year after little progress had been made in preparing for the biennial event.

CAF officials will do inspection tours of all the candidates this month with the winners to be announced on February 10 this year.

South African billionaire businessman Motsepe said the successful country or countries would offer the best “transport, logistics, hotels and beautiful stadiums”.

“Each region will have a chance to organise a CAN (Cup of Nations). We cannot assign the organisation of the CAN successively to the same region.”

Benin and Nigeria are in west Africa, as are the Ivory Coast, who will host the 2023 Cup of Nations.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor on Friday in Abuja, teed off golf kitty tournament to mark the 2023 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration.

Irabor, represented by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, said the tournament was organised in partnership with the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF) to celebrate the retired and fallen heroes.

He said the event was significant in remembering the nation’s fallen heroes who had paid the supreme price for defending Nigeria and those still alive who gave their best in service to the nation.

He said that there were other sporting activities organised to mark the day, adding that it was the first time the armed force would partner with NGF to organise a golf tournament.

He said that apart from golf, many other sport activities were also lined up for the occasion.

Also, Otumba Olusegun Runsewe, the President of NGF and Director-General, National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC), commended the CDS for approving the partnership for the tournament.

Runsewe said there was the need to celebrate those that laid down their lives for the peace and unity of Nigeria.

He said that Nigeria had moved to the next level of golf development in line with international standard.

According to him, the International Standard is that any measure on a golf course must be branded.

“So, I’m happy to show you that if you go on the course now every measure has this international standard.

“We have 250 Pro golfers from professionals, amateurs, women among others, and it is an 18 hole golf course.

“I want to assure you that with this partnership, we are going to open more windows in Nigeria,” he said.

Similarly, the Director, Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Jimmy Akpor, said the tournament was organised to honour the fallen heroes who had paid the supreme price to keep Nigeria together.

Akpor said that there were living veterans as well as those who bore the scars of war and operations and the handicapped.

He said that the sporting activities were about building consciousness of the military and supporting them to continue to be the pride of the nation.

“So, while we are here doing this golf kitty, we also have those who are injured who are also playing a game at the National Stadium as we speak.

“They are playing the Citizen sitting volleyball and Wheelchair basketball,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)reports that the injured and soldiers living with disability known as Invictus team played citizens sitting volleyball match with the FCT team at the indoor arena of the National Stadium.

(NAN)