COACH of the U-15 National Boys Team, Haruna Ilerika, has said the forth coming U-16 International Dream Cup tournament in Japan will help develop and expose his team for future competitions.

Ilerika said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the eight-nation invitational tournament known as the U16 International Dream Cup is scheduled to hold in Japan from June 12 to 16 in the city of Sendal.

He said that the goal of the coaching crew was to use the tournament to develop and expose the young boys and not necessarily to win the competition.

“We are trying to use this competition to develop the talent that are bound in these boys.

“We don’t want to press them down by insisting they must win at all cost,” he said.

He said that pressure exerted on the boys to win at all cost would only end up being counterproductive.

The coach, however, said that the team would do their best  to win their matches at the competition as in doing so their confidence would increase.

He said this is the first time the team would be playing foreign teams outside Africa.

He, therefore, called for the support of all stakeholders.

The Future Eagles, as the players are called, will play Mexico, Japan and Romania (European championships at this level) at the Japan tournament.

The team which has been training at the FIFA Goal project at the Abuja National stadium are currently on recess, the team will reconvene on June 5 before departing on June 10 for Japan.

-NAN

BE

– May 25, 2019 @ 14:15 GMT |