Former Super Eagles defender Godwin Okpara has raised concerns over the lack of a proper succession plan in key areas of the national team, blaming it on Nigeria’s underdeveloped local league system.
In a chat with Brila.net, Okpara emphasized the need to revamp the domestic league to enable the discovery and growth of new talents who can eventually step into the shoes of current national team stars like Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen.
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“When we have one player, a regular player who is playing all the time, we forget about getting another player to take that place. During our era, we had so many people in the same role, but now, we don’t have it, and we don’t care about getting it.”
The former Strasbourg defender criticized the overreliance on football academies whose main focus, he argued, is often to export players abroad rather than strengthen the local game.
“What we depend on all the time is the Academies. It’s killing our football. Let’s focus on our league. This is where we can get those players. We have to bring up our league.”
Okpara questioned the country’s preparation for the future:
“Who is going to take the place of Lookman when he retires? What about Osimhen? Who? Nobody!”
Despite his concerns, he praised Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle for recently including home-based players in the squad, noting it could help rebuild player confidence and give the local league more credibility.
“Now we can see some home-based players in the national team, which we were not seeing before. So it’s a good thing. Now, we need to work on them and let them gain some confidence from experience.”
Okpara concluded by urging stakeholders to invest in and prioritize the domestic league, stressing that it’s the most reliable path to sustained national team success.
