Former Nigeria defender, Taribo West, says players in the present national U-20 team have the potential to become the future of Nigerian football.

African champions Flying Eagles are camped in Germany ahead of the U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, which begins on May 30.

Taribo, a former Inter Milan centre-back turned pastor is happy with the progression of Manu Garba’s squad right from the U-17 level two years ago.

“I believe in the team and I have been praying for them. What we’ve lacked over the years is the ability to transfer success from one level to another. But this team seems to be getting it right,” Taribo stated.

“They won the U-17 World Cup in 2013 and the Flying Eagles that won the 2015 African Youth Championship were made up largely of players from that U-17 team. If they put up a solid performance in New Zealand, it’s a stepping stone to becoming the future of Nigerian football.”

Taribo added that he was eager to watch the Flying Eagles excel at the World Cup, saying it would help erase the negative impression held about Nigeria globally.

He said, “The image painted about the country in the international media is not too good and one of the ways to erase it is through football. If the Flying Eagles do well, people will talk positively about Nigeria again. It happened in our time too, we had to use football to fight the bad impression people had about our country.”