The chairman of Nigeria’s National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko has cited the role played by diaspora players in recent strides for Morocco at the FIFA World Cup as well as global youth football championships, one of which they recently won, Sports247 reports.
Dikko noted that Morocco’s advances to the World Cup’s semi-final in 2022 and quarterfinals this year were made possible through the influx of players born in Europe, while pointing out that the North African country also won the under-20 Mundial with a lot of foreign influences.
He stated this while speaking at the maiden multi-sports gathering organised by Nigeria Diaspora Talents Development Committee (NDTDC) at Hertfordshire Games Village in the UK, which he said was not only successful but also symbolic for the nation’s sports stars born abroad.
The NSC’s boss further commended the athletes of Nigerian descent for pledging their international allegiances to their paents’ country and pointed out that the diaspora initiative is part of the Commission’s aggressive drive towards developing sports from the grassroots at home and abroad.
Dikko also mentioned the presence of Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze in England’s squad that won bronze at this year’s World Cup, which he noted could have been Nigeria’s honour had they been playing for the Super Eagles, then praised NDTDC coordinator, Tunde Adelakun for his efforts.
He also promised to keep on creating an enabling environment for Nigerian talents in the diaspora to thrive in the nation’s colours, with a view that the country can surpass the current exploits of Morocco in football, which he stressed is based mostly on their ability to harness talents that were born in Europe.
“Morocco won the U17 AFCON with 100% of players from the disapora. They won the U20 World Cup with 80% from the diaspora. At the FIFA World Cup, only three of their players were born in Morocco. So, the renaissance you are seeing for Morocco is actually from the diaspora.
“If we had done what we are doing now long ago, maybe the likes of Michael Olise, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze would be playing for Nigeria today. This is an initiative from the NSC. We must commend Tunde and his Disapora Team for pulling off this maiden edition.
“People will say Nigeria has over 200 million population. So, why are we doing this? But we need as many talents as possible from different pools and we have identified the diaspora as a massive catchment area. I also commend you for the sacrifice you have made to feature for Nigeria.
“We are very voracious in our grassroots sports development drive. We set up Invited Junior Athletes as ‘the 38th state’ in the National Sports Festival. Now we have Invited Diaspora Athletes that will feature at the Intermediate Games. Maybe they would become ‘the 39th state’ in the Sports Festival.
“Whether you are in the diaspora or at home, as long as you are a Nigerian, you are eligible to play for Nigeria, and we are here to provide the enablers for you to succeed. We are committed to doing our best to ensure that our talents are not lost to foreign countries anymore,” Dikko submitted.
