The team won the maiden edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1985 at China, the 1985 Edition tournament was sponsored by Kodak (when it was known as the U-16 tournament), 1993, 2007 and 2013; making them the first team ever to win the junior world cup four times.[3] They also won the African Under-17 Championship in 2001 and 2007, and were runners-up in 1995.
After the 2007 victory there was some discussion as to whether the success should be rewarded in the form of cash, or if longer-term investments were more suitable for teenage players. It was pointed out that some previous players had found themselves reduced to poverty due to injury or mismanagement of their funds.[3]
Heading into the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, head coach Henry Nwosu was replaced by John Obuh, coach of Kwara United. In 2011[4] planning was thrown into disarray however in August when over half the team was determined by bone scanning to be overage and excluded from the team.[5]
Although Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, they participated again in the 2013 edition of the tournament. In their first match, the team defeated the defending champions Mexico with a 6-1 score. They only failed to defeat Sweden in the group stage, but they did so in the semi-finals. In the final match they faced and defeated Mexico for a second time, obtaining their fourth U-17 World Cup and becoming the national team to win the most U-17 tournaments so far.