for the friendlies against Cameroun and Austria planned by the Nigeria Football Federation preparatory to the World Cup qualifiers slated for September.The sports ministry, last year, had mandated the Nigeria Football Federation to overhaul the Eagles’ technical and administrative structure for better results.
“At a time when you expected Rohr to have a rethink on the number of home-based players that should be invited from our NPFL for Super Eagles’ matches since they are friendlies, you still see him go for these players from Europe. Even the mandate given to him by the sports ministry was never adhered to because nobody saw him watch any of our league games for good players, except on television.
“But now what do they do, they keep on inviting players who were rejected by countries of their birth. If these players were considered good enough will they come and play for us? This is a shame we find ourselves where we invite players, who are benchwarmers in their clubs in Europe. It became worse when we even invite a player from Cyprus. To me, this is an embarrassment to our football,” said one Akomolafe Deji.Also expressing his disgust over the list was one Emeka Chukwu.
Responding to views of fans, a depressed former international, Felix Owolabi, speaking to The Guardian, yesterday, said he is confounded why a coach would not give the domestic league players a chance, which he and others enjoyed playing for the national team from right from their local clubs, adding that the sole reliance on foreign-based players in international games was the reason for the slide in the growth of the country’s football.
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