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Mutiu Adepoju laments Salisu’s U-23 Olympic failure

The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad will not include the 2015 AFCON U23 winners, who exited in a disastrous manner

Super Eagles icon, Mutiu Adepoju, has voiced his displeasure with Nigeria’s U-23 men’s failure to earn a spot in the 2024 Olympics.

The Olympic gold medalist from 1996 conveyed his unhappiness with the outcome and recommended that the Nigeria Professional Football League pay close attention to prevent repeated disappointment.

Salisu Yusuf’s team could only manage a scoreless draw with the Guineans at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja during the first leg of the playoffs, and they were aware that they would need a victory there in order to advance to the 2024 Paris Olympics and the fifth edition of the continental tournament.

However, the Dream Team VII struggled in Rabat and lost to their West African neighbours with a score of 2-0.

Adepoju then expressed his dissatisfaction to Channels Television over the Nigerian team’s failure to attend the Olympics’ male football competition for the second time in a row.

“Well, I think it is very sad. Nobody is happy about that. But, I think this is the more reason we should take care of our league.” he said.

He continued by saying that the Nigerian league should strive to overcome its obstacles in order to become more competitive.

The 52-year-old added: “We have to take care of our league and the clubs too. I will always say we have to be up and doing and be more professional because the U-23 is practically from the league,

“If we have the league running – it is not that our players are not good – but we are not able to beat teams that we used to beat before, I think we just need to do something.”

The Olympic Eagles competed four times in the Olympics, winning gold in 1996, silver in 2008, and bronze in 2016.

Ayomide Oguntimehin

Ayomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and an Editor at Soccernet.ng, with a proven track record in conducting interviews with Super Eagles stars such as William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ademola Lookman, and many others. He has also made a significant impact in breaking transfer news stories. Grounded in video editing, video journalism, social media management, and content strategy, Ayomide brings a wealth of expertise to his work. With a Bachelor's degree in English Language from Adeyemi College of Education and a Master's Degree in School Library and Media Technology from the University of Ibadan, Ayomide is well-prepared to excel in the field.

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  • I said it before, please check and look at the history of Successful Nigeria team. If you dont have one or two Edo person on the team. it is so hard and difficult för the team to advance or win the cup.Edo is the heart Beat of the nation. The coach have do the needful. this is a personal observation and believe it help Nigeria football

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