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By Emma Jemegah
Invitation of players to the Super Eagles will henceforth be restricted as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is mulling banning Nigerian professional players playing in the diaspora, otherwise known as “Oyinbo” players.
A source privy to the Executive meeting of the NFF held on Tuesday in Abuja hinted SportingSun that, after a review of the circumstances leading to the crashed dream of the Super Eagles to book a ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it was observed that the influx of ‘players without Nigerian playing mentality’ contributed to the abysmal performance of the team against Ghana in the two-legged affair.
According to him, the NFF will no longer allow just any player, without a proper playing root in the country, to be invited to the Super Eagles.
“The meeting deliberated extensively on the invitation of players of Nigeria descent abroad and the conclusion was that ‘imported’ players should be highly discouraged. Although, it was agreed that there should be an exemption.
“Any Nigerian is free to play for the Super Eagles on condition that such player is in top form and ready to play for the country. The NFF will no longer lobby or beg Nigerian-born players abroad to play for the national team,” the source said.
