TheCable

Azubuike Egwuekwe, former Super Eagles defender, has faulted the exclusion of Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) players from the country’s squad for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON). 

Jose Peseiro, Super Eagles head coach, recently announced the 25 players in the final squad for the competition billed to take place in Ivory Coast.

Olorunleke Ojo, the goalkeeper of Enyimba FC, is the only home-based footballer in the final squad.

Speaking with TheCable about the list, Egwueke said the exclusion of NPFL players saddened him.

He said although Nigeria has players in good form across Europe, home-based players should also be considered because “African football is totally different from what they play in Europe”.

“I know that the home-based players have not been to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) for a while, but that doesn’t mean we do not have good players in the league,” Egwuekwe told TheCable.

“They just need to be given a chance, and they will deliver. My own is that I know we have good players in Europe, but we need the home-based players, too. Because there are times in football when you do not need tiki-taka but physicality. I believe the home-based players will bring that physicality and aggressiveness to the team.”

Egwuekwe was one of the six home-based players in the Super Eagles squad for the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.

Nigeria won the competition after defeating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final. The winning goal was scored by Sunday Mbah, who was then playing for Enugu Rangers in Nigeria’s first division.

Egwuekwe said the 2013 AFCON victory proved that the inclusion of home-based players is essential to conquering African football.

“I was sad about the lack of more home-based players in the team. I was not really happy because this is African football that we are going to play, and we need some home-based players in the team. Because that was what made us win the 2013 AFCON. African football is totally different from what they play in Europe,” he said.

“Nigeria has one of the best players in Europe, but we also have good players in the Nigerian league. For me, we should give the Nigerian league players a chance in the national team because this is African football, not the World Cup or the Confederation Cup. We are going to play an African team. A lot of players like me, Sunday Mbah, Juwon Oshaniwa, and [Godfrey] Oboabona were playing in the Nigerian league when we went to AFCON in 2013 and won the trophy.”

In preparation for the AFCON, the Super Eagles will camp in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for a one-week training camp before flying back to Lagos on January 9 and proceeding to Ivory Coast a day later.

The Eagles are in Group A alongside Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

Nigeria will take on Equatorial Guinea in their opening game before facing Ivory Coast and rounding off the group stage with the Guinea-Bissau tie.