Raheem Upbeat As NFF Set To Prone 120 Future Eagles To 40 Players

Buruj FC wonderkid, Raheem Moyinoluwa Salaudeen, is optimistic of making the cut as the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF is ready to prone the 120 players in the U15 National Boys Football Team camp, Future Eagles to 40 players.

In a statement released by the NFF on Friday, the Nigeria Football house confirmed that over 120 young players took part in the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, TDS, which lasted two weeks in Abuja.

The programme, which is in line with FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme (TDS) initiative, aimed at creating a sustainable legacy for long-term talent development in the country saw Raheem Moyinoluwa Salaudeen selected as part of the over 120 players and participated in the screening programme.

The Buruj FC player, who at 13 years old featured in the Nigeria Nationwide League One, NLO, as one of the youngest ever to participate in the Nigeria third tier league scored in one of the friendly matches played by the team during the development programme and believe he has put in his best to be selected among the forty.

In an exclusive, Raheem hopefully hinted that he can’t wait to see his name among the forty players on the list, who will return to the camp for the continuation of the development programme.

Beyond scoring a goal, he thinks he has put in his best as the experience of playing in the NLO for two consecutive seasons really helped him to adapt quickly to the training methods and understand what the coaches want.

“It’s a combination of fear and hope”, he said when asked about his chances of making the forty players list.

“Beyond scoring a goal, I think my overall contribution wasn’t bad. I am able to cope with the training regime and understand what the coaches want as playing in the NLO One in two consecutive seasons really helped in the camp but the coaches know best, I gave my best,” Raheem said.

Speaking ahead of the shortlist, Head Coach of Nigeria’s U15 national team, Mr Patrick Bassey, gave assurances on the transparent nature of the selection process and says merit remains the only criteria.

“In the selection of the players, there has not been any sentiment; every player that was scouted and brought here has the talent, the skill and the commitment to the game. I believe these players will be very useful to the nation in the long run,” coach Bassey told NFF media.

According to the head of TDS delegation in Nigeria, Mr. Nasiru Jibril, a former Nigeria international said that the main goal of the TDS project being to help raise the standards of national-team football around the world for both men and women, which is driven by FIFA’s desire for a long-term dedication to global talent development, Jibril said he is confident the program will form the major plank for supplies to our senior national teams in no distant time.

“Talent Development Scheme (TDS) is a project initiated by FIFA in all countries of the world to benefit places like Africa. Presently, we are trying to go round and give every single child the opportunity to showcase their talent. Players from the ages of 12, 13, and 14 are the ones we are bringing to this center so we can pick the best out of them and build them into a group where the national teams will be getting supplies from. From 2025, the U17 AFCON will become an annual project, and if there is no program like this, any country may struggle in assembling the best legs to represent her.”