Sports

Morocco 2023: Guinea block Olympic Eagles from U23 AFCON finals

Published

3 years ago

March 28, 2023

Joel Ajayi
Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles have come short of making it to this year’s U23 Africa Cup of Nations after losing 2-0 to Guinea in the second leg of their final qualifying fixture in Rabat, Morocco on Tuesday.

After a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Abuja on Wednesday last week, the Eagles had the opportunity of more training sessions together to take the game to the Guineans on neutral ground, as Guinea does not have a venue approved in their country for international football.

Both teams fought hard on the turf of the Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan for one hour, before Guinea took the lead, and then added a second 15 minutes later to the consternation of the Nigeria squad and their head coach Salisu Yusuf.

Defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, for a team that emerged champions of the Africa U23 Cup of Nations in Senegal in 2015 and reached the finals staged in Egypt four years ago.

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Sports

From Streets to Stardom: Unique Futbol Academy Scouting Program Inspires Ibadan’s Young Footballers

Published

11 hours ago

November 4, 2025

The Gleamer

Ibadan is buzzing with excitement as the Unique Football Academy Scouting Program kicks off, bringing together top European football clubs and talented young Nigerian players.

The four-day program, which commenced on Monday, features a delegation of four directors from prominent European teams, including two from Kosovo and one from India, led by renowned football agent Diego Martins from Portugal.

The scouting program aims to identify and select outstanding players who will be given opportunities to showcase their skills in Europe.

Successful players will be offered the chance to take their careers to the next level, with the organizers assuring them of opportunities abroad.

According to the Director of the program and founder of Unique Football Academy, Mr. Jelil Oladimeji, this is not the first time the academy has organized such an event.

“This is the 4th edition, and we are proud of the progress and impact we have made so far in terms of exposing our raw talent to the European market,” he said.

The program has already proven successful, with several players from previous editions going on to excel in European leagues. Some notable examples include Haruna Saleh with PAOK in Greece and Praisegod Emersons in Slovakia.

As the program continues, clubs are gearing up to exhibit their talents, and the future looks bright for Nigeria’s young football stars.

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