Nigeria’s U15 boys, Future Eagles and their officials arrived in Baku, capital city of Azerbaijan on Thursday afternoon for the inaugural edition of the FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival, taking place 22nd – 31st October, 2026.

The 14 players and their six officials, including Head Coach, Patrick Bassey and Team Administrator, Nasiru Jibril flew out of Abuja on Wednesday night to Istanbul aboard a Turkish Airline flight, before connecting to the Azerbaijan capital.

Nigeria, in Group AD of the competition, will play against South Sudan, Jordan, The Gambia, Cyprus and Pakistan with their first match coming up on Saturday against South Sudan. They will then play Jordan and The Gambia on Sunday, before taking on Cyprus and Pakistan on Monday.

The inaugural tournament will feature an eight-a-side format, with matches consisting of two 20-minute halves.

Performances in the group stage will determine which tier each country will progress to in the second stage, which will take centre stage on 28th and 29th October, while the tier finals will be played on Friday, 30th October.

FUTURE EAGLES FOR FIFA U15 WORLD CUP & FESTIVAL:

Goalkeepers: Victor Wisdom (Eagles Wings Academy, Abuja), Peter Linus (HB Academy, Abuja)

Defenders: Daniel Olaomi (Eagles Wings Academy), Prosperity Anionovo (Buruj Football Academy, Lagos), Timothy Ijachi (Mavlon FC, Lagos), David Okwusogu (NFF TDS), Michael Ibironke (NFF TDS)

Midfielders: Abdulsalam Muhammad (Simonben Academy, Kaduna), Martin Chukwu (AS Roma Academy, Abuja), Ayomide Jekami (NFF TDS), Mayowa Salu (NFF TDS)

Forwards: Abdulrazak Mufutau (12Alive FC, Ibadan), Wisdom Oche (Shakhandam Academy, Abuja), Wisdom Boniface (Adoration Academy, Enugu)