Emmanuel Amuneke has been named as coach of the Nigeria U-17 team by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Amuneke was an assistant to coach Manu Garba who led the Golden Eaglets to win the U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last year.
Garba and one of his assistants Nduka Ugbade, a former Nigerian international, have been drafted to lead the Nigeria U-20 team, the Flying Eagles.
According to Emmanuel Ikpeme, head of the NFF’s technical committee, his choice was to ensure continuity because of his contributions to the last U17 team.
“We have opted for continuity because these coaches are highly experienced and qualified to continue with the progress we are making,” Emmanuel Ikpeme said.
“We’ve had a couple of disappointing experiences in the past and it was felt that we couldn’t take the same route again.
“Amuneke has transformed from a great player to one of the finest youth coaches in Africa and we believe he deserves his under-17 role as well,” he concluded.
Amuneke who played 27 times for Nigeria and was named African Footballer of the Year in 1994 will hope to qualify the Golden Eaglets to the 16th U-17 World Cup billed for Chile in 2015.
