Nigeria’s Sand Eagles have intensified preparations for their CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifying showdown with Ghana, with all 20 invited players now in camp in Kaduna, Trybal News reports.
The team has spent the past week undergoing tactical and technical sessions at the Murtala Muhammed Square Sports Complex under the guidance of coach Christopher Kadiri.
Head coach Abdullahi Isa is currently with the Golden Eaglets as they prepare for the WAFU-B U17 Championship in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, scheduled for next month.
The Sand Eagles will face Ghana’s Black Sharks in the first leg of the qualifying tie in Kaduna on Saturday, October 10, before travelling to Accra for the return leg on Saturday, October 17.
Nigeria returned to the international beach soccer scene two years ago after an extended absence but narrowly missed out on qualification for the CAF Beach Soccer AFCON hosted by Seychelles, losing to Mauritania on the away-goal rule.
The winner of the two-legged tie with Ghana will secure a place at the CAF Beach Soccer AFCON finals in Senegal, scheduled for October 7 to 15.
The Nigeria Football Federation has also approached the Senegalese Football Federation over the possibility of arranging friendly matches against the reigning African champions as part of the Sand Eagles’ preparations for the Ghana encounter.
The 20-man squad features three goalkeepers, six defenders and 11 forwards, with players drawn from clubs across Nigeria.
Sand Eagles squad
Goalkeepers: Godwin Tale (Kada BSC), Nuhu Noma Aiki (Kebbi BSC), Olalekan Oladipo (Kada BSC).
Defenders: Victor Tale (Kada BSC), Taiwo Adams (Kebbi BSC), Emmanuel Ohwoferia (Kebbi BSC), Clement Eganosi (Anambra BSC), Effiong Eyo (Ibom BSC), Chinweze Gabriel (Anambra BSC).
Forwards: Dozie Frank (Kada BSC), Stanley Ekwe (Anambra BSC), Tanko Emmanuel (Kada BSC), Ekene Obi (Kebbi BSC), Hassan Abubakar (Niger BSC), Sadiq Umar (Kebbi BSC), Kazeem Oyewunmi (Igbogbo BSC), Hassan Abdullahi (Kebbi BSC), Godspower Igudia (Edo BSC), Hamza Bagudu (Jigawa BSC), Hamza Isa (Kebbi BSC).
