NFF Under 13 Football Championship Enters Semi Final Stage

The national finals of the 2013 NFF U-13 Football Championship enter the semi final stage on Monday in Abuja.

Team Lagos which has a 100% record so far will face team Katsina in the first semi final match by 2pm, while Team Niger also with a 100% record will engage team FCT by 4pm on the same day.  

Out of the 13 States which qualified for the championship from the zonal preliminaries, only nine reported for the finals at the FIFA Goal Project Center of the Abuja National stadium.

Team Enugu, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and Edo failed to show up for the games, while team Gombe had their players disqualified for being over age.

The remaining eight teams, Niger, Katsina, Lagos, Plateau, Bauchi and Federal Capital Territory, FCT where drawn into two groups A and B with the top two teams from the groups qualifying for the semi-final stage.

Following the successful completion of preliminary round matches on Sunday, ex-international Patrick Pascal (MON), who is also a member of the NFF's Youth Development Committee said the Aminu Maigari led NFF board is determined to leave a lasting legacy for Nigeria football through the U-13 youth development programme.

“We are here to cement a great future for Nigeria football, the NFF president has mandated that we keep producing talents that can continue to win world cups for this country just like the Iheanacho(s) did in UAE.” The Atlanta ’96 Olympic gold medallist added.

The Championship also provides the National U-13 team coach, Danladi Nasidi, the opportunity to select the best 25 players for national team camping exercise.

The U-13 National Championship is one of the cardinal developmental programmes of the Aminu Maigari administration and has yielded abundant  dividends with a number of players in the U-17 squad that won a record fourth FIFA U-17 World Cup for Nigeria last year coming through the ranks.

Results of matches played so far:
Ogun 1-3 Kaduna
Niger 3-0 Katsina
Lagos 3-2 FCT
Plateau 7-0 Bauchi
Kaduna 2-3 Lagos
Katsina 2-1 Plateau
FCT 3-2 Ogun
Bauchi 0-5 Niger
Ogun 1-2 Lagos
Niger 5-1 Plateau
Kaduna 1– 2 FCT
Katsina 2 -0 Bauchi