An appeal has been made to the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to end the habit of imposing players on the coaches of the senior Nigerian national team, according to BETANDSURED.com.
There have been claims in some circles that the NFF often pressures coaches of the senior squad to include certain players due to personal interests or benefits. Former coaches like Gernot Rohr and Jose Peseiro admitted they turned down players the NFF attempted to impose on them.
Discussing player selection for the national squad, Emeka Ezeugo, who was part of the 1994 World Cup team—Nigeria’s first-ever outing at that level—criticized what he described as a deep-seated problem within the NFF.
Ezeugo wondered why high-ranking officials of the NFF continue to impose players on coaches, even though the team is filled with talented players.
“We need to pick the right players. We already have the talents, so why should the NFF officials decide who joins the team?
“It has turned into a systemic problem to push players. We must fix this. Stop adding players unfairly,” he said during an interview on Brila FM.