NFF Bans Light-Hearted Players From Super Eagles, Others

NFF Bans Light-Hearted Players From Super Eagles, Others

Ibraheem Lateef

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) expressed distaste with recent results of the Super Eagles and the U23 Boys, and fully endorsed the NFF President’s stated position that the Federation will never beg any player to wear the nation’s colours.

This position was contained in a statement after its Executive Meeting in Abuja on Monday.

It added that whoever is not motivated for one reason or the other to represent Nigeria should always be bold enough to state this at the point of invitation. Any perceived lackadaisical attitude by any player wearing Nigeria’s colours at the international level will no longer be treated with kid gloves. 

However, the board assured Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora that it remains very focused and working assiduously towards proactively and vigorously developing Nigeria football from the grassroots, as well as providing adequate support and encouragement to the youth teams to flourish and produce players for the senior teams, and also to engender a conducive environment for the blossoming of a Football Economy that will, sooner than later, begin to contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. 

The Board minced no words in charging the Golden Eaglets to deploy its best efforts in overcoming all before it to win the Africa U17 Cup of Nations taking place in Algeria between April 29 and May 19, and in the process earning a ticket to the FIFA U17 World Cup finals taking place later this year.

While asserting that the bronze-medal performance of Flying Eagles at the Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Egypt was below par, the board exhorted the technical crew and the players to see it as a national duty to win the FIFA U20 World Cup for Nigeria when the tournament takes place in Argentina.

The Board expressed satisfaction with the new positive spirit and winning mentality in the camp of the Super Falcons but admonished the technical crew to work even harder to give confidence to the players that they can indeed stand their own against the world’s best, adding it was ready to do even more to prepare the team for the big challenge with another grade A friendly match in Europe and a two-week camping in Australia before the kick-off of the tournament on July 20.