Cybereagles

hestonap wrote:

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:

EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:NFF is obviously a loyal disciple of everything England. I suppose Boris Johnson will coach this Team.

You are not going to find the pool of Nigerian talent in Germany or France or Belgium that you'll find in England, for obvious reasons.
Even within Nigeria, evidence suggests the largest pool of talent is in the south east.
What do you want to do about it? If anyone isn't happy they should stop complaining, look into the reasons and improve the quality of competition.

It is what it is.
Dumbing down to satisfy silly sentiment is not an option.

What pool? I assume you are referring to viable options, and not just some useless player with a Nigerian father.

Even at CB, Germany has Udokhai, Akpoguma and Torunarigha.

The word "talent" must be taken into consideration.

Agreed.
My point is about numbers.
You more than most should know there are hundreds of Nigerians playing up and down the UK leagues, only a tiny fraction of whom are even remotely being eyed.
That's all simply down to our historical ties and the sheer weight of numbers of Nigerians living here.
You cant compare that to anywhere else in Europe.
And that is what is and always has been reflected.

John Chidozie and Tunji Banjo were the first.
There was another guy who was a pharmacist - can't recall his name now.
Then came Okwaraji, I think from Germany.

Keshi was the first home-grown to emigrate, first to Ivory Coast then on to Europe.
He opened the gates and the trickle became the flood.

So nor be today.

Damunk,

Not to detract from a very interesting/important topic, but for sake of accuracy the Big Boos (RIP) was not the first homegrown player to emigrate, granted he truly opened the floodgate to Europe.

The late Thunder Balogun played for Peterbrough/Skegnes and QPR in the 50s and Quicksilver Sylvanus Okpala played in Portugal at least a couple of years in Europe before Keshi went to Lokeren in Belgium and he was a relative contemporary to Keshi.

I guess the circumstance of Keshi's move and being the Eagles Captain at the time, meant he was of a significantly higher profile that Okpala's move paled in relative comparison.

On a side note, I recall reading an interview with Peter Rufai talking about how him and Keshi went/were going to go for Trials with Spurs as far back as either 82 or 83.

Thank you hestonap. 'Thunder' never seems to come to mind in these discussions but you are right. My bad.
As for Quicksilver, I wasn't aware he'd gone to Europe so early.
Could it have possibly been while Keshi was still in the Ivory Coast?

Damunk wrote:

hestonap wrote:

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:

EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:NFF is obviously a loyal disciple of everything England. I suppose Boris Johnson will coach this Team.

You are not going to find the pool of Nigerian talent in Germany or France or Belgium that you'll find in England, for obvious reasons.
Even within Nigeria, evidence suggests the largest pool of talent is in the south east.
What do you want to do about it? If anyone isn't happy they should stop complaining, look into the reasons and improve the quality of competition.

It is what it is.
Dumbing down to satisfy silly sentiment is not an option.

What pool? I assume you are referring to viable options, and not just some useless player with a Nigerian father.

Even at CB, Germany has Udokhai, Akpoguma and Torunarigha.

The word "talent" must be taken into consideration.

Agreed.
My point is about numbers.
You more than most should know there are hundreds of Nigerians playing up and down the UK leagues, only a tiny fraction of whom are even remotely being eyed.
That's all simply down to our historical ties and the sheer weight of numbers of Nigerians living here.
You cant compare that to anywhere else in Europe.
And that is what is and always has been reflected.

John Chidozie and Tunji Banjo were the first.
There was another guy who was a pharmacist - can't recall his name now.
Then came Okwaraji, I think from Germany.

Keshi was the first home-grown to emigrate, first to Ivory Coast then on to Europe.
He opened the gates and the trickle became the flood.

So nor be today.

Damunk,

Not to detract from a very interesting/important topic, but for sake of accuracy the Big Boos (RIP) was not the first homegrown player to emigrate, granted he truly opened the floodgate to Europe.

The late Thunder Balogun played for Peterbrough/Skegnes and QPR in the 50s and Quicksilver Sylvanus Okpala played in Portugal at least a couple of years in Europe before Keshi went to Lokeren in Belgium and he was a relative contemporary to Keshi.

I guess the circumstance of Keshi's move and being the Eagles Captain at the time, meant he was of a significantly higher profile that Okpala's move paled in relative comparison.

On a side note, I recall reading an interview with Peter Rufai talking about how him and Keshi went/were going to go for Trials with Spurs as far back as either 82 or 83.

Thank you hestonap. 'Thunder' never seems to come to mind in these discussions but you are right. My bad.
As for Quicksilver, I wasn't aware he'd gone to Europe so early.
Could it have possibly been while Keshi was still in the Ivory Coast?

Sylvanus Okpalla and Okey Isima left for Portugal around the same time. Richard Owubokiri followed shortly when he moved to Brazil.

Odegbami was offered a contract by Spurs immediately after the 1980 Nations Cup. This is at least three years before Keshi went to Europe.

Owobokiri
Isimi
Okpala

All played in Europe way before Big Boss. However, Big Boss changed the conditions for the African player. Private jets, allowances, hotel accommodation, feeding.... A true African hero. He carried everyone up.

nzeogwu wrote:Odegbami was offered a contract by Spurs immediately after the 1980 Nations Cup. This is at least three years before Keshi went to Europe.

Owobokiri
Isimi
Okpala

All played in Europe way before Big Boss. However, Big Boss changed the conditions for the African player. Private jets, allowances, hotel accommodation, feeding.... A true African hero. He carried everyone up.

Yes, he opened the door for many African players. A true African football legend!

Dammy wrote:

Damunk wrote:

hestonap wrote:

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:

EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:NFF is obviously a loyal disciple of everything England. I suppose Boris Johnson will coach this Team.

You are not going to find the pool of Nigerian talent in Germany or France or Belgium that you'll find in England, for obvious reasons.
Even within Nigeria, evidence suggests the largest pool of talent is in the south east.
What do you want to do about it? If anyone isn't happy they should stop complaining, look into the reasons and improve the quality of competition.

It is what it is.
Dumbing down to satisfy silly sentiment is not an option.

What pool? I assume you are referring to viable options, and not just some useless player with a Nigerian father.

Even at CB, Germany has Udokhai, Akpoguma and Torunarigha.

The word "talent" must be taken into consideration.

Agreed.
My point is about numbers.
You more than most should know there are hundreds of Nigerians playing up and down the UK leagues, only a tiny fraction of whom are even remotely being eyed.
That's all simply down to our historical ties and the sheer weight of numbers of Nigerians living here.
You cant compare that to anywhere else in Europe.
And that is what is and always has been reflected.

John Chidozie and Tunji Banjo were the first.
There was another guy who was a pharmacist - can't recall his name now.
Then came Okwaraji, I think from Germany.

Keshi was the first home-grown to emigrate, first to Ivory Coast then on to Europe.
He opened the gates and the trickle became the flood.

So nor be today.

Damunk,

Not to detract from a very interesting/important topic, but for sake of accuracy the Big Boos (RIP) was not the first homegrown player to emigrate, granted he truly opened the floodgate to Europe.

The late Thunder Balogun played for Peterbrough/Skegnes and QPR in the 50s and Quicksilver Sylvanus Okpala played in Portugal at least a couple of years in Europe before Keshi went to Lokeren in Belgium and he was a relative contemporary to Keshi.

I guess the circumstance of Keshi's move and being the Eagles Captain at the time, meant he was of a significantly higher profile that Okpala's move paled in relative comparison.

On a side note, I recall reading an interview with Peter Rufai talking about how him and Keshi went/were going to go for Trials with Spurs as far back as either 82 or 83.

Thank you hestonap. 'Thunder' never seems to come to mind in these discussions but you are right. My bad.
As for Quicksilver, I wasn't aware he'd gone to Europe so early.
Could it have possibly been while Keshi was still in the Ivory Coast?

Sylvanus Okpalla and Okey Isima left for Portugal around the same time. Richard Owubokiri followed shortly when he moved to Brazil.

The reason why Keshi 'seemed' like the 1st player to go abroad also has to do with the circumstances of his departure from domestic football.

According to Rufai, agents were already speaking to them after the SE, largely made up of a young and unknown bunch, took the continent by storm in 84. Africa had some of the best teams at the 82 World Cup (Cameroon & Algeria) and the SE were not meant to be a factor at the 84 CAN. However, but for Rufai's injury in the Semi Finals, these group of mostly younglins from Nigeria would have won the 84 Nations' Cup.

So, Keshi, Rufai & a group of others were taken abroad by an agent before an important World Cup qualifier, & even though they made it back to the country on time, Keshi had to go to Benin to sort out some things. Keshi & some of the NNB crew came to camp late & the NFA Chairman, Tony Ikhazobor banned them from all football for a year.

That is how a couple of them went to Cote D'Ivoire & even Benin Republic. Keshi was in Ivory Coast for a year or two and then to Belgium. The 1983 - 86 period also saw serious economic downturn in Nigeria, and most of the players now saw just how much more they could earn in Ivory Coast and eventually Belgium & France, as clubs in both of those European leagues had a good eye on the Ivorian league.

Eventually, Nigerians just started moving directly to Europe (mostly Belgium) & it hasn't stopped since.


Prior to Keshi, all the guys who moved abroad were largely lost to the National team. A few guys would go to Europe and even US Colleges, but no one (espcially the NFA) cared about going through the trouble of bringing players back for matches when all the needed talent was here at home. I recall Okey Isima coming back and scoring a key goal in a WC qualifier, but the SE was made up of players from the top domestic clubs. With Keshi, Rufai & Yekini gone, the model had to change quickly.

truetalk wrote: The reason why Keshi 'seemed' like the 1st player to go abroad also has to do with the circumstances of his departure from domestic football.

According to Rufai, agents were already speaking to them after the unknown bunch took the continent by storm in 84. Africa had some of the best teams at the 82 World Cup (Cameroon & Algeria) and but for Rufai's injury in the Semi Finals, these group of mostly younglins from Nigeria would have won the 84 Nations' Cup.

So, Keshi, Rufai & a group of others were taken abroad before an important World Cup qualifier, & even though they made it back to the country on time, Keshi had to go to Benin to sort out some things. Any Keshi & some of the NNB crew came to camp late & the NFA Chairman, Tony Ikhazobor banned them from all football for a year.

That is how a couple of them went to Cote D'Ivoire & even Benin. Keshi was in Ivory Coast for a year or two and then to Belgium. The 1983 - 86 period also saw serious economic downturn in Nigeria, and most of the players now saw just how much more they could earn in Ivory Coast and eventually Belgium & France, as clubs in both of those European leagues had a good eye on the Ivorian league.

Eventually, Nigerians just started moving directly to Europe & it hasn't stopped since.


Prior to Keshi, all the guys who moved abroad were largely lost to the National team. A few guys would go to Europe and even US Colleges, but no one (espcially the NFA) cared about going through the trouble of bringing players back for matches when all the needed talent was here at home. With Keshi, Rufai & Yekini gone, the model had to change quickly.

Thanks truetalk

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:Chief, but what exactly do you suggest is the sensible thing to do right now?

Nigeria, despite what everyone appears to be saying, has got more than its fair share of returns from its youth teams. In and around the current SE we have a whole bunch of youth graduates performing for us and on the rise around the world.
I don't see what anybody can do in the short term to fast track local players into the SE without compromising our pedigree, which, by the way, Nigerians have no capacity to stomach once results go badly.

In the medium to long term the solution is not rocket science: "develop the local leagues; develop youth football". This can be done without ignoring Nigerian talent globally; and scouting Nigerian talent globally can be done without ignoring the locals. The two are not mutually exclusive and there is no need for a 'quota' system.

Its a case of 'may the best man win' and if there are better local men being kidnapped and locked in a closet away from scouting eyes, then somebody needs to cry out and let us all know who they are and where they are. We need them.

its quite simple! Dont tell Ejuke "Who can we drop for you," and then in the same breath tell Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!" What did Ejuke do to deserve this???! He plays in Div 1 and Ejaria plays in Div 2. The Eze they are begging plays in Div 2 as well. I can guarantee you that if Eze agrees to play for us today, they will find someone to drop for him. Same as they have found for Bilings.

Please, lets be honest and call a spade what it is.
I also see from my second highlight that you arent responding to NFA chair's point. The issue is NOT "LOCAL PLAYERS!" THE ISSUE IS THOSE WHO WERE BORN IN NIGERIA.

Dude, the issue of players born in Nigeria was addressed in my first graphic and my comments beneath the charts in the same post... before NFA Chair even asked the question!
He didn't respond to that, did he?
But its okay! Nor be fight!

PS: Nobody said to Ejuke "who can we drop for you?", just like nobody said to Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!"
That's you playing to the gallery and making up your own context and/or scenarios.

That question re Ejuke was to a questioning journalist and was obviously rhetorical. The Ejaria scenario you have completely made up is based on the simple fact that his international FIFA switch has allegedly come through, making him eligible for a Nigeria call-up. Nothing more.

We can have this discussion without embellishing the facts. So you need to heed your own advice, stick with what we know and keep moving.

Bro,
At this rate, eagles woudl soon be made up of 80% foreign born (majority of whom have never set foot in nigeria before an invite), 20% Nigerian born, and 0% homebased.

chief nfachairman wrote:

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:Chief, but what exactly do you suggest is the sensible thing to do right now?

Nigeria, despite what everyone appears to be saying, has got more than its fair share of returns from its youth teams. In and around the current SE we have a whole bunch of youth graduates performing for us and on the rise around the world.
I don't see what anybody can do in the short term to fast track local players into the SE without compromising our pedigree, which, by the way, Nigerians have no capacity to stomach once results go badly.

In the medium to long term the solution is not rocket science: "develop the local leagues; develop youth football". This can be done without ignoring Nigerian talent globally; and scouting Nigerian talent globally can be done without ignoring the locals. The two are not mutually exclusive and there is no need for a 'quota' system.

Its a case of 'may the best man win' and if there are better local men being kidnapped and locked in a closet away from scouting eyes, then somebody needs to cry out and let us all know who they are and where they are. We need them.

its quite simple! Dont tell Ejuke "Who can we drop for you," and then in the same breath tell Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!" What did Ejuke do to deserve this???! He plays in Div 1 and Ejaria plays in Div 2. The Eze they are begging plays in Div 2 as well. I can guarantee you that if Eze agrees to play for us today, they will find someone to drop for him. Same as they have found for Bilings.

Please, lets be honest and call a spade what it is.
I also see from my second highlight that you arent responding to NFA chair's point. The issue is NOT "LOCAL PLAYERS!" THE ISSUE IS THOSE WHO WERE BORN IN NIGERIA.

Dude, the issue of players born in Nigeria was addressed in my first graphic and my comments beneath the charts in the same post... before NFA Chair even asked the question!
He didn't respond to that, did he?
But its okay! Nor be fight!

PS: Nobody said to Ejuke "who can we drop for you?", just like nobody said to Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!"
That's you playing to the gallery and making up your own context and/or scenarios.

That question re Ejuke was to a questioning journalist and was obviously rhetorical. The Ejaria scenario you have completely made up is based on the simple fact that his international FIFA switch has allegedly come through, making him eligible for a Nigeria call-up. Nothing more.

We can have this discussion without embellishing the facts. So you need to heed your own advice, stick with what we know and keep moving.

Bro,
At this rate, eagles woudl soon be made up of 80% foreign born (majority of whom have never set foot in nigeria before an invite), 20% Nigerian born, and 0% homebased.

My guy Chief NFAChairman,
Tell me what you find the most worrying aspect of that prospect you paint.
It is a theoretical possibility of course.
But what exactly is the problem you see?

Is your prediction a reflection of the poor state of Nigerian football at the moment?
Is it an acknowledgement that global football trends will engulf Nigeria like everywhere else?
Is it simply your patriotic instinct kicking in?


What are we losing out on now, and what do you see us losing out on in the future?
Finally, what do you suggest we do practically, knowing the state of Nigerian football right now?

What you are seeing happening now is simply the football version of globalisation that took you, me and numerous others on this forum out of Nigeria in the 90s and Noughties.

It is inextricably tied to the corruption, ineptitude and lack of financial clout of the Nigerian state.
It is not going to stop any time soon.

Damunk wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:Chief, but what exactly do you suggest is the sensible thing to do right now?

Nigeria, despite what everyone appears to be saying, has got more than its fair share of returns from its youth teams. In and around the current SE we have a whole bunch of youth graduates performing for us and on the rise around the world.
I don't see what anybody can do in the short term to fast track local players into the SE without compromising our pedigree, which, by the way, Nigerians have no capacity to stomach once results go badly.

In the medium to long term the solution is not rocket science: "develop the local leagues; develop youth football". This can be done without ignoring Nigerian talent globally; and scouting Nigerian talent globally can be done without ignoring the locals. The two are not mutually exclusive and there is no need for a 'quota' system.

Its a case of 'may the best man win' and if there are better local men being kidnapped and locked in a closet away from scouting eyes, then somebody needs to cry out and let us all know who they are and where they are. We need them.

its quite simple! Dont tell Ejuke "Who can we drop for you," and then in the same breath tell Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!" What did Ejuke do to deserve this???! He plays in Div 1 and Ejaria plays in Div 2. The Eze they are begging plays in Div 2 as well. I can guarantee you that if Eze agrees to play for us today, they will find someone to drop for him. Same as they have found for Bilings.

Please, lets be honest and call a spade what it is.
I also see from my second highlight that you arent responding to NFA chair's point. The issue is NOT "LOCAL PLAYERS!" THE ISSUE IS THOSE WHO WERE BORN IN NIGERIA.

Dude, the issue of players born in Nigeria was addressed in my first graphic and my comments beneath the charts in the same post... before NFA Chair even asked the question!
He didn't respond to that, did he?
But its okay! Nor be fight!

PS: Nobody said to Ejuke "who can we drop for you?", just like nobody said to Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!"
That's you playing to the gallery and making up your own context and/or scenarios.

That question re Ejuke was to a questioning journalist and was obviously rhetorical. The Ejaria scenario you have completely made up is based on the simple fact that his international FIFA switch has allegedly come through, making him eligible for a Nigeria call-up. Nothing more.

We can have this discussion without embellishing the facts. So you need to heed your own advice, stick with what we know and keep moving.

Bro,
At this rate, eagles woudl soon be made up of 80% foreign born (majority of whom have never set foot in nigeria before an invite), 20% Nigerian born, and 0% homebased.

My guy Chief NFAChairman,
Tell me what you find the most worrying aspect of that prospect you paint.
It is a theoretical possibility of course.
But what exactly is the problem you see?

Is your prediction a reflection of the poor state of Nigerian football at the moment?
Is it an acknowledgement that global football trends will engulf Nigeria like everywhere else?
Is it simply your patriotic instinct kicking in?


What are we losing out on now, and what do you see us losing out on in the future?
Finally, what do you suggest we do practically, knowing the state of Nigerian football right now?

What you are seeing happening now is simply the football version of globalisation that took you, me and numerous others on this forum out of Nigeria in the 90s and Noughties.

It is inextricably tied to the corruption, ineptitude and lack of financial clout of the Nigerian state.
It is not going to stop any time soon.

Globalization has never benefited Nigeria or developing nations. We need some form of protection and even the West are beginning to protect in several ways.

We must have balance else one day, it would be only Nigerians in Diaspora that would be watching the SE.

I was one of those that covered Dessers and even mentioned him on this forum. But what the hell is he doing in the SE? Someone that has never been here or even knows where naija is on the map with his Belgian Father. We got to cut the mickey.

chief nfachairman wrote:

Damunk wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:Chief, but what exactly do you suggest is the sensible thing to do right now?

Nigeria, despite what everyone appears to be saying, has got more than its fair share of returns from its youth teams. In and around the current SE we have a whole bunch of youth graduates performing for us and on the rise around the world.
I don't see what anybody can do in the short term to fast track local players into the SE without compromising our pedigree, which, by the way, Nigerians have no capacity to stomach once results go badly.

In the medium to long term the solution is not rocket science: "develop the local leagues; develop youth football". This can be done without ignoring Nigerian talent globally; and scouting Nigerian talent globally can be done without ignoring the locals. The two are not mutually exclusive and there is no need for a 'quota' system.

Its a case of 'may the best man win' and if there are better local men being kidnapped and locked in a closet away from scouting eyes, then somebody needs to cry out and let us all know who they are and where they are. We need them.

its quite simple! Dont tell Ejuke "Who can we drop for you," and then in the same breath tell Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!" What did Ejuke do to deserve this???! He plays in Div 1 and Ejaria plays in Div 2. The Eze they are begging plays in Div 2 as well. I can guarantee you that if Eze agrees to play for us today, they will find someone to drop for him. Same as they have found for Bilings.

Please, lets be honest and call a spade what it is.
I also see from my second highlight that you arent responding to NFA chair's point. The issue is NOT "LOCAL PLAYERS!" THE ISSUE IS THOSE WHO WERE BORN IN NIGERIA.

Dude, the issue of players born in Nigeria was addressed in my first graphic and my comments beneath the charts in the same post... before NFA Chair even asked the question!
He didn't respond to that, did he?
But its okay! Nor be fight!

PS: Nobody said to Ejuke "who can we drop for you?", just like nobody said to Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!"
That's you playing to the gallery and making up your own context and/or scenarios.

That question re Ejuke was to a questioning journalist and was obviously rhetorical. The Ejaria scenario you have completely made up is based on the simple fact that his international FIFA switch has allegedly come through, making him eligible for a Nigeria call-up. Nothing more.

We can have this discussion without embellishing the facts. So you need to heed your own advice, stick with what we know and keep moving.

Bro,
At this rate, eagles woudl soon be made up of 80% foreign born (majority of whom have never set foot in nigeria before an invite), 20% Nigerian born, and 0% homebased.

My guy Chief NFAChairman,
Tell me what you find the most worrying aspect of that prospect you paint.
It is a theoretical possibility of course.
But what exactly is the problem you see?

Is your prediction a reflection of the poor state of Nigerian football at the moment?
Is it an acknowledgement that global football trends will engulf Nigeria like everywhere else?
Is it simply your patriotic instinct kicking in?


What are we losing out on now, and what do you see us losing out on in the future?
Finally, what do you suggest we do practically, knowing the state of Nigerian football right now?

What you are seeing happening now is simply the football version of globalisation that took you, me and numerous others on this forum out of Nigeria in the 90s and Noughties.

It is inextricably tied to the corruption, ineptitude and lack of financial clout of the Nigerian state.
It is not going to stop any time soon.

Globalization has never benefited Nigeria or developing nations. We need some form of protection and even the West are beginning to protect in several ways.

We must have balance else one day, it would be only Nigerians in Diaspora that would be watching the SE.

I was one of those that covered Dessers and even mentioned him on this forum. But what the hell is he doing in the SE? Someone that has never been here or even knows where naija is on the map with his Belgian Father. We got to cut the mickey.

Oga, me sef I'm fine with Dessers as he's never said he doesn't want to play for Nigeria and seems genuinely excited and honored to get the call-up. Its the likes of Billings, and Eye-bee that I despise, they have actually either turned us down or said they had no connection with Nigeria and would feel weird playing for us, so those ones feel like they are using us more so and I don't want no Kevin Prince Boatengs on our team...

maceo4 wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

Damunk wrote:

chief nfachairman wrote:

Damunk wrote:

danfo driver wrote:

Damunk wrote:Chief, but what exactly do you suggest is the sensible thing to do right now?

Nigeria, despite what everyone appears to be saying, has got more than its fair share of returns from its youth teams. In and around the current SE we have a whole bunch of youth graduates performing for us and on the rise around the world.
I don't see what anybody can do in the short term to fast track local players into the SE without compromising our pedigree, which, by the way, Nigerians have no capacity to stomach once results go badly.

In the medium to long term the solution is not rocket science: "develop the local leagues; develop youth football". This can be done without ignoring Nigerian talent globally; and scouting Nigerian talent globally can be done without ignoring the locals. The two are not mutually exclusive and there is no need for a 'quota' system.

Its a case of 'may the best man win' and if there are better local men being kidnapped and locked in a closet away from scouting eyes, then somebody needs to cry out and let us all know who they are and where they are. We need them.

its quite simple! Dont tell Ejuke "Who can we drop for you," and then in the same breath tell Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!" What did Ejuke do to deserve this???! He plays in Div 1 and Ejaria plays in Div 2. The Eze they are begging plays in Div 2 as well. I can guarantee you that if Eze agrees to play for us today, they will find someone to drop for him. Same as they have found for Bilings.

Please, lets be honest and call a spade what it is.
I also see from my second highlight that you arent responding to NFA chair's point. The issue is NOT "LOCAL PLAYERS!" THE ISSUE IS THOSE WHO WERE BORN IN NIGERIA.

Dude, the issue of players born in Nigeria was addressed in my first graphic and my comments beneath the charts in the same post... before NFA Chair even asked the question!
He didn't respond to that, did he?
But its okay! Nor be fight!

PS: Nobody said to Ejuke "who can we drop for you?", just like nobody said to Ejaria "Good morning Sir, we have opened a space for you!"
That's you playing to the gallery and making up your own context and/or scenarios.

That question re Ejuke was to a questioning journalist and was obviously rhetorical. The Ejaria scenario you have completely made up is based on the simple fact that his international FIFA switch has allegedly come through, making him eligible for a Nigeria call-up. Nothing more.

We can have this discussion without embellishing the facts. So you need to heed your own advice, stick with what we know and keep moving.

Bro,
At this rate, eagles woudl soon be made up of 80% foreign born (majority of whom have never set foot in nigeria before an invite), 20% Nigerian born, and 0% homebased.

My guy Chief NFAChairman,
Tell me what you find the most worrying aspect of that prospect you paint.
It is a theoretical possibility of course.
But what exactly is the problem you see?

Is your prediction a reflection of the poor state of Nigerian football at the moment?
Is it an acknowledgement that global football trends will engulf Nigeria like everywhere else?
Is it simply your patriotic instinct kicking in?


What are we losing out on now, and what do you see us losing out on in the future?
Finally, what do you suggest we do practically, knowing the state of Nigerian football right now?

What you are seeing happening now is simply the football version of globalisation that took you, me and numerous others on this forum out of Nigeria in the 90s and Noughties.

It is inextricably tied to the corruption, ineptitude and lack of financial clout of the Nigerian state.
It is not going to stop any time soon.

Globalization has never benefited Nigeria or developing nations. We need some form of protection and even the West are beginning to protect in several ways.

We must have balance else one day, it would be only Nigerians in Diaspora that would be watching the SE.

I was one of those that covered Dessers and even mentioned him on this forum. But what the hell is he doing in the SE? Someone that has never been here or even knows where naija is on the map with his Belgian Father. We got to cut the mickey.

Oga, me sef I'm fine with Dessers as he's never said he doesn't want to play for Nigeria and seems genuinely excited and honored to get the call-up. Its the likes of Billings, and Eye-bee that I despise, they have actually either turned us down or said they had no connection with Nigeria and would feel weird playing for us, so those ones feel like they are using us more so and I don't want no Kevin Prince Boatengs on our team...

Dessers. He might end up been good in the SE but at what cost?