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England-based youth coach Chuks Akuneto has applied to coach Nigeria’s U-17 team promising to use his expertise to help turn things round.
Akuneto, a highly motivated UEFA A License holder brings experience from coaching roles in India and England following a 15-year playing career across five countries.
He believes he has the skills to unearth Nigeria’s next generation of superstars. Akuneto’s impressive CV highlights his “proven track record in player development” and his ability to design effective coaching programmes.
“My coaching methods,” he told PUNCH Sports Extra.
“I have enabled numerous players to progress through academies and into professional first teams.”
He further emphasises his leadership qualities, mentorship experience, and ability to collaborate within a team environment.
These skills, he argues, contribute to on-field success.
Akuneto was recently announced as the U-19 coach for English club Oldham Athletic, having previously coached Stockport County’s U-18s and serving as both Youth Team Manager and First-Team Coach at FC United of Manchester.
Throughout his career, Akuneto has displayed dedication and professionalism, qualities he promises to maintain if chosen for the Golden Eaglets job.
“With God’s will and considering the vision of the current NFF board, we can get it right. Our youth structure can be the best, but ultimately, the job decision rests with God.”
Meanwhile, Akuneto faces stiff competition from former U-17 coaches Manu Garba and Nduka Ugbade who have both applied for the job.
Manu, is one of the longest serving U-17 national team coaches, winning the U-17 World Cup.
He assisted coach Tella when Nigeria won the 2007 U-17 World Cup. He was then assisted by Ugbade when Nigeria won a record fourth U-17 World Cup in Abu Dhabi in 2013.
They later worked together with the U-20s, the Flying Eagles.
Last year, Ugbade failed to get the Golden Eaglets past the quarter-final of the U-17 AFCON in Algeria.
PUNCH Sports Extra further gathered that Ahmadu Dankoli, who assisted Ugbade last year, and USA-based Abdullahi Biffo have also applied for the Golden Eaglets top job.
From next year, the U-17 World Cup will now be staged every year as against the current format where is it played every two years.