Former Super Eagles’ striker, Aide Brown Ideye has come out with a startling declaration that the level of exposure home-based players get in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is not good enough for them to win the Championship of African Nations (CHAN).
Sports247 reports that Ideye aired his view in the wake of the Eagles-B squad’s 4-0 loss to Sudan and their early ouster from this year’s CHAN, which the former Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine and West Bromwich Albion of England star said did not come as a surprise to him.
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He absolved Super Eagles’ coach, Eric Chelle, of any blame for the setback that has befallen Nigeria at CHAN 2024, opting instead to blame what he believes is the lack of adequate exposure for the country’s home-based players.
Ideye, who played part of last season with Enyimba of Aba in the NPFL, but later accused them of giving him paltry payments, declared: “People are putting fingers of blame on the coach, complaining about his tactics and all that.
“But what they have to know is that all the players play different tactics in their clubs. That way, the coach does not have enough time to blend these boys, teach them his tactics, and make them understand how to play his style.”
Ideye, who earlier starred for Ocean Boys FC and Bayelsa United of Yenagoa in the NPFL before joining Sochaux of France, added that the CHAN Eagles’ players should rise to the occasion and make Chelle’s tactics work.
The Canada 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup revelation reasoned further, “The coach may not have enough time but, as a football player, those boys ought to know the day they will be playing 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. The coach will only find a way to put them together and make sure they win a match.”
Ideye then faulted the level of exposure home-based players get in the domestic league, which he believes is not good enough to fortify them for high-level competition on the African continent.
He argued, “The big thing that is bringing these boys down and disturbing them is because they are not exposed enough.
“Our league cannot give these boys that foundation for them to match up with other African countries. They are not exposed enough. They are not!
“So, let’s not be expecting a world-class performance, when we know what we have. We have boys’ clubs, yet we are expecting them to go out there and win the World Cup. It’s not possible.”
Meanwhile, Sports247 reports, with corporate support from Showtime, a leading brand in football development, that the CHAN Eagles will get a chance for a consolation and face-saving exit from the ongoing competition when they tango Congo in their last group match on Tuesday.
Victory would see the CHAN Eagles finish third in the group, as the Congolese currently have two points, but beating Nigeria could see them qualify for the next round if either Sudan or Senegal lose on the same day, as they both currently have four points each.
