Upon election to the position of NFF president, Amaju Pinnick indicated his intention to reach out to players of Nigerian descent plying their trade in Europe.
Nigeria of course has a history of missing out on or overlooking eligible talent, either by negligence or due to the sort of underhanded politics that has long crippled the Super Eagles. Most saddening of course is the case of Bayern Munich star David Olatokunbo Alaba , who turns out for Austria’s national side.
The 22-year-old, born to a Nigerian father and a Filipino mother, expressed his desire to join up with the U17 team in the build-up to the 2007 World Cup in South Korea. However, he got no official approach, and opted to represent the country of his birth: Austria.
David Alaba | Veritable talent lost to Austria
It is clear then that Pinnick’s idea has merit. What has been surprising is the response to his efforts: ranging from cynical indifference to downright antagonism.
The NFF boss most recently reached out to young Arsenal prospects Chuba Akpom and Alex Iwobi , with the latter set to turn out for the U23 national side as they face Gabon in an All Africa Games qualifier at the weekend.
It is a delicate balance to be struck in situations such as this. Too many players born in Europe and the fans will find it hard to identify with the team; football is very much a populist sport. However, it smacks of snobbery and insecurity to say that these players will not improve our national teams.
It is an uncomfortable truth, but in terms of technical ability and tactical education, the local league does not hold a candle to its European counterparts. To pretend otherwise is just that: pretence.
The fallout of Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations made it abundantly clear that there is a dearth of quality in the players we are churning out. No surprises there, the system is faulty. Even the most vehement supporter of the Nigerian Premier League will not dispute that there is a lot wrong with the structures and administration, right down to club level.
An oft-regurgitated cliché is that there are enough talents in the country to rule the world. Question is: how did we arrive at this view? With Nigerian clubs having no clear strategy for recruiting and nurturing talent, is this not an extension of our penchant for plucking inferences out of thin air, circumventing the need for accountability?
Privately-owned football academies have assumed the role that club youth teams ought to play: teaching kids the rudiments of the game. However, the progression for their best players is often to one of the national youth teams, and then onto Europe. Those that make the move to the NPFL are mostly those not considered good enough.
So unless our recruitment strategy for the national teams is to comb every dusty field in the country searching for diamonds in the rough, we must acknowledge that Pinnick has the right idea.
Chuba Akpom | Opportunity to bring in the Arsenal youngster
If we want quality in the national teams, then we have to out-source our football development, at least in the short term. Algeria provide a healthy example of how incorporating eligible talent from the diaspora can improve a team’s style of play and results.
The likes of Yacine Brahimi , Sofiane Feghouli , Nabil Bentaleb and Faouzi Ghoulam , to name a few, could have opted to play for the French national team, but were actively wooed by the Algerian FA. Les Fennecs are better for their introduction, and these players have been absorbed into the group and made to feel a part of something bigger thanks to the passionate support of the Algerian people.
Should the fact that players were born abroad (or moved there at some point) count against them in this day and age? Victor Moses could realistically have opted to play for the Three Lions, but his decision to play for the Super Eagles was perhaps the single most important factor in Nigeria’s most recent football success: the 2013 Afcon.
In the long term, a sustainable framework will have to be found for the scouting, recruitment and development of the best young players by NPFL teams. That is unavoidable, but in the here-and-now, Pinnick’s idea is as good a stopgap as any.
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