Nigeria U-15 team denied visas by Spanish embassy after an over age player was reportedly found amongst them

The Nigerian U-15 boys Future Eagles have been denied visas by the Spanish Embassy and will not participate in the UEFA U-16 Development Tournament.

The development comes amid insider reports that the Spanish embassy didn’t believe all the players presented for the journey were really under-15 players.

The visa snub was disclosed through an official statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation via its official channels on Monday, April 8.

Originally slated to depart on Tuesday for Spain, the Future Eagles were primed to compete against formidable opponents including Belgium on Friday, April 12 (8pm), Italy on Sunday, April 14 (8pm), and England on Wednesday, April 17 (1pm). The special invitation given to Nigeria came as a result of Nigeria’s pedigree in youth football, in which the team has won five world titles at U17 boys’ level and reached the FIFA World Cup final on two occasions at U20 level.

The delegation representing the Future Eagles was led by Zannah Malah, a prominent member of the NFF Technical and Development Committee, and it consisted of 20 players.

NFF tweeted;

Players and officials of the Nigeria U15 team, Future Eagles, have been denied visas by the Spanish Embassy and will therefore not be travelling to take part in the UEFA U16 Development Tournament starting on Friday.