Joel Ajayi
The Chairman of MOP Stars Football Club Academy, Dr. Sulieman Adejoh, has charged Nigeria’s U-17 Golden Eaglets to sharpen their attack and make the nation proud at the forthcoming WAFU-B U-17 Boys Tournament in Abidjan.
Speaking after a goalless draw in a test match between his academy side and the Eaglets on Monday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Dr. Adejoh commended the resilience of the team but stressed that their major weakness remained in front of goal.
“This was more than just a game — it was a test of the ability of our national U-17 team to represent Nigeria. The boys are grounded and talented, but they simply couldn’t score today. For a national team, that’s not acceptable. Football is about teamwork and, most importantly, scoring goals,” he said.
He urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Coach Manu Garba’s technical crew to refine their strategies, cautioning that dazzling play without goals will not be enough at the international level.
Reflecting on his own academy’s performance, Adejoh expressed pride, noting that the Mobsters, founded only in January, have yet to lose a match except in a training game against the senior national team. He said the Eaglets’ inability to score against an academy side was a clear signal of the need for urgent improvement in their attacking third.
“Defensively, they are solid, and the wingers are talented. But wingers must supply the strikers. If attackers don’t get the ball, even the best can’t do anything. The Eaglets represent over 200 million Nigerians, and we want to see goals when they play,” he added.
He praised both sides for a competitive and injury-free match and the fans for their enthusiasm. Delivering his final message to the Golden Eaglets, Dr. Adejoh said:
“My advice is simple: go for goals. Stop the unnecessary dribbling. Football is teamwork. Release the ball quickly, find your striker, and let them do their job — which is scoring goals. That’s what Nigerians expect when they represent the country abroad.”
Head Coach of MOP Stars, Toyin Lawal, hailed the progress of his young team after holding the national U-17 side to a goalless draw.
“We are a new team and still have a lot of work ahead of us. But it’s a joyful thing to see that we were able to contend with the national team. I sincerely hope the Eaglets will go on to represent the country very well.
When we met months ago at the Goal Project, they beat us 1–0. This time, we ensured no goal went in. In fact, we even pushed to win it. What changed is simply the mentality of the boys. Back then, the goal we conceded came from a careless mistake due to inexperience. But as we’ve grown and trained more, the players have become more precise. You could see today that those mistakes were far fewer, and that’s why we came out stronger.”
Team captain Edeh Eric Ernest described the game as “a battle of giants.” “In the first leg, they beat us 1–0, but we went back to the drawing board and came back stronger for this encounter. Our goal today was to win, and we created chances, but they were able to withstand us in key moments, and that’s why we didn’t score. Kudos to them for that.
I’m proud of my boys — they really gave their best. The mistakes we made in the last game didn’t happen today, and that’s why this result is massive for us. At least we came out with a draw. At the same time, we pray for the national team to represent Nigeria well as they travel. That’s the most important thing.
One of the academy’s stakeholders, Mr. Ekpang Adejoh, praised the team’s discipline and raw talent.
“Fantastic defensive discipline, solid midfield formation — from street footballers — yet they held a national U-17 side to a goalless draw. That’s remarkable.
The U-17s did well too, but you cannot take away the raw talent of these MOP Stars. This is why we are urging the NFF to look into the streets of Nigeria. There are footballers everywhere, and even from this team alone, you can find future Super Eagles stars.
The academy is less than a year old, yet look how far they’ve come. In the next two years, with the dedication of the founder, we could be seeing players on the level of Jay-Jay Okocha or Kanu Nwankwo.
From losing through an own goal in the first leg to holding their own here and even creating better chances, this shows there’s massive talent on Nigeria’s streets. It’s time for the NFF to recognize this and organize competitions between academies and national teams to uncover more players. That’s very important.”
