Fifa admits error in awarding U17 World Cup bronze boot to Nwakali and not Chukwueze

WORLD footballing body Fifa has admitted it made an error in awarding the bronze boot too Nigerian skipper Kelechi Nwakali during the recently-concluded Under 17 World Cup as the gong was supposed to go to team mate Samuel Chukwueze.

 

After the tournament which Nigeria won, Golden Eaglets captain Nwakali was handed the bronze boot for the third highest number of goals scored. Compatriot Victor Osimhen won the gold boot with 10 goals, while Germany's Johannes Eggestein won silver with four goals but Nwakali and Chukwueze were tied on three goals apiece.

 

Fifa inadvertently awarded Nwakali the boot to add to the golden ball he won as the best player of the tournament but a good look at its rules show that Chukwueze should have won in based on the number of minutes he played. Correcting the anomaly, Fifa has decided to send Chukwueze another bronze boot, although it has indicated that Nwakali will be allowed to keep his too.

 

Mustapha Fahmy, the director of the Fifa's football division, said in a letter to the Nigerian Football Federation: “We made a mistake at the closing ceremony of the Fifa U-17 World Cup in Chile 2015 with the distribution of the Adidas bronze boot. Instead of player number eight of Nigeria, Samuel Chukwueze, the player Kelechi Nwakali, number 10 received the Adidas bronze boot.

 

"If two or more players are still equal after goals and assists, the player who has played fewer number of minutes will be ranked first. With this in mind, Adidas will send you another bronze boot, which we would kindly ask you to hand over to Samuel Chukwueze and please be informed that Kelechi Nwakali may keep his trophy.”

 

According Fifa records, Nwakali played for 630 minutes in the tournament as against Chukwueze’s 535 minutes. This means that under Fifa guidelines, Chukwueze should have automatically been awarded the bronze boot.