The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has warned players of the national Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets not to think of revenge when they face Ivory Coast's under-17s in the final of the 2013 African Under-17 Championship on Saturday.
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The Golden Eaglets lost 0-1 to the junior Elephants in the preliminaries; their only defeat thus far in the competition and with both sides meeting again in the showpiece game on Saturday, there have been whispers in some quarters that the Nigerian side will be looking to exact revenge on their West African neighbours.
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The NFF, through its technical committee chairman, Barrister Christopher Green however feels that would not be the right approach.
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"They cannot start thinking about revenge. The loss in the group stages was painful but at this age, it's not just all about winning.
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"The players are in the formative stages of their careers so such thoughts will not be going in line with what we want them to achieve.
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"Of course, we want the title but the ultimate ambition is to see these boys still playing for the senior national team in years to come," Green said.
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Nigeria's Golden Eaglets have scored an astonishing 17 goals in four matches in the competition.
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The Ivorians are the only side yet to concede against the Golden Eaglets.
Golden Eaglets are currently on an even score with the Ivorians. It wasn't as easy as they thought it would be