AYC Draws: ‘Flying Eagles Don’t Fear Tough Teams’

Flying Eagles coach John Obuh has declared that his team are ready to face any opponent as the draws for the African Youth Championship, AYC, holds today in  Tripoli, Libya.

Nigeria are the most successful nation in the history of AYC with five successes in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989 and 2005. The 2011 edition of the tournament will  hold in Libya between 18 March and 1 April.

Obuh refused to be drawn into making his pick of the Flying Eagles’ prospective opponents ahead of the draws. “I don’t want to say we want to play team A or  avoid team X because all the teams that have got to this stage are good and must be respected. We will do our job irrespective of who we get and hopefully,  we will make Nigerians proud at the end of the competition,” Obuh said.

“I want to say that the Nigerian team are battle ready to confront any team that come our way,” he said.

Egypt, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali and the hosts, Libya are the seven other teams that will battle for the top prize alongside the Flying Eagles.

Libya is hosting the biennial event for the first time and all matches will be played at the Industrial River and Hugo Chávez stadiums. The semi finalists  will represent the continent at the FIFA U-20 World Cup slated for Colombia later next year. Ghana’s Black Satellites are the defending champions.

Meanwhile, the Flying Eagles camp will open on Saturday, three months before the kickoff date. Obuh’s team are dominated by his “golden youngsters” who  reached the finals of the last FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria.

Obuh, who also doubles as coach of Sharks is pleased that he is able to begin camping for the AYC on schedule. “I have been keeping an eye on the players.  Don’t forget that some of them play for me at Sharks, so I am able to keep an eye on them all the time,” he told SuperSport.com.

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