Members of the victorious Golden Eaglets team were treated to a standing ovation aboard an Emirates Airlines, on their return trip to Nigeria on Wednesday.
The Nigerian U-17 team, defeated African champions Mali 2-0 in the final to successfully defend the trophy they won two years ago in UAE.
On the Boeing 77 Flight 248 from Santiago to Dubai, the pilot announced: “We are happy to have on board members of the Nigerian U-17 National Team that was just crowned as the world champions after they beat Mali 2-0 in the final on Sunday.”
There was thunderous applause for the team from almost 300 passengers on board.
“It is a great feeling to be world champions,” Funsho Bamgboye, who scored the Eaglets second goal in the final, said.
“I’m happy that I have represented my country, state and family well and we can see that this has made a lot of people happy too”, he added.
The Eaglets arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the afternoon.
