A combination of about five factors almost ruled Nigeria U17 emerging star Abubakar Sa’id out of the ongoing U-17 World Cup where he announced himself to the world with a hattrick to help Nigeria to a comeback 3-2 win over Ecuador.
The Dabo Babes prospect struck in the 5th, 85th and 89th minute in the game against Hungary with his second goal already tipped to be among one of the goals of the tournament judging by how he curled it home with the accuracy of a seasoned professional.
Many have talked about how he was closed to missing the tournament following error in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging test ( MRI) which made him missed the Africa U17 Cup of Nations.
Owngoalnigeria.com adds four other reasons that almost stopped Sa’id from representing Nigeria at the tournament.
No Boots : He came to the camp of the team with bad pair of boots that became worst after continuous training on synthetic pitch in Abuja and he had to resort to borrowing boots from his teammates before he finally got one. He was almost out of the team due to it.
Doesn’t Know His Position On The Pitch – When he was spotted by the coaches of the team during the screening of players at their Abuja camp, the coaches of the team wanted to know his most suitable role on the pitch but when he was asked his replied showed that he has zero knowledge of where he is more comfortable playing from: ” Any number ” was his reply when he was asked his favorite position on the pitch.
Dropped From Pre World Cup Tournament : Sa’id wasn’t considered for a spot in the two pre world cup tournaments the team played as part of their preparations for the U17 World Cup with the coaches putting their trust in players who played at the Africa U17 tournament. He however sneaked back into the team after the not too impressive performance of the team at the invitational tournament in Turkey.
International Passport Issue – It was discovered very late by the technical crew that the player doesn’t have an international passport before the Africa Cup of Nations. The issue meant he was kept out of the first team and when he eventually got one, the MRI Test ruled him out. That episode almost made the coaches to leave him out of their plans for the World Cup.
Failed MRI Test – Sa’id rose to the position of a regular in the team and was expected to play a role in attack at the Africa U17 Cup of Nations but that dreamed was dashed when he failed the mandatory MRI Test. It was later discovered that there were errors in the test following an outcry by the proprietor of 36 Lions FC Alhaji Liamed Gaffar. A committee was set up to review the cases and another scan was done on the players and Sa’id passed this time around.
