Nigeria will play the African Youth Championships two players short after Mackson Ojobo and Gomo Onduku were excluded from the squad for ’technical reasons’.

The Flying Eagles are Ghana’s opponents in Group B of the tournament in South Africa.

Team officials in South Africa claim that Ojobo was given special permission to play for Enyimba in this weekend’s CAF Champions League match. But another official said he is not expected to join the team even after that.

Both players were named in John Obuh’s final squad for the tournament, but reports emerged immediately after suggesting that the pair could not be within the age bracket.

Worried about the reports, the NFF moved quickly to remove the players from the squad.

NFF officials however, declined to explain what the ’technical reasons’ are, although a top official at the secretariat told KickOffNigeria.com that it was for the same reason that former captain Fortune Chukwudi was also left out of the squad.

Nigeria begin their campaign on Monday against defending World and African champions Ghana.

Source: Kickoff