Former Super Eagles’ midfielder, Nosa Igiebor has raised a sweeping personal view that players in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) cannot get shirts in the country’s current senior national team.
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Sports247 reports that Igiebor gave this verdict in response to critical comments from some analysts that no home-based player featured in the Nigerian squad that won bronze at the recent Africa Cup of Nations.
The ex-international, who made top marks in Spain and Israel during his active days, further opined that the current squad is already saturated with good players who are doing well in Europe.
He then exonerated Eagles’ coach, Eric Sekou Chelle, from all manner of blame for not selecting home-based players for AFCON 2025, as the gaffer knows only stars playing abroad and is not familiar with lads in the NPFL.
The dark-skinned star from Edo State, who was part of the Eagles’ winning squad at AFCON 2013 in South Africa, stressed that Chelle should not be expected to pick players whom he does know anything about and in whose standard of play he does not believe.
Igiebor averred, “The coach believes in the current players, and he knows his team. When we won the 2013 Nations Cup, (Stephen) Keshi went to the Nigerian league to get some players.
“But, for this particular setup, we have so many top-quality and talented stars there already. Apart from that, the selection of players comes with the coach’s belief.
“If the coach does not believe in home-based players, that’s his choice. He cannot select players he does not trust. That’s just the truth.”
He concluded by saying Keshi could select home-based lads for his AFCON 2013-winning squad because he grew up in Nigeria, played in the league and lived at home for a long time, before becoming coach of the national team.
“Another thing is that Keshi grew up in Nigeria. So, it was easy for him to pick players from the league. He also lived in Nigeria most of the time, and it was easier for him to see the best players.
“But, this current guy is not based here, and I think he believes in the players that he already has. This is my opinion, and I’m not putting words into his mouth.
“He believes so much in them; to the extent that he doesn’t think anybody from the Nigerian league will come there and make his team,” Igiebor submitted.
