Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare has canvassed for the inclusion of home-based players into the mainstream Super Eagles.
Speaking yesterday when he visited the Eagles at their training in Abuja, the Minister said: “I’m happy that the conversation and the meetings we’ve had in the past several months with the NFF about changing the phase of our football development is beginning to bear fruits. I’m an advocate of a blend of home-based and foreign-based players to create a level playing field. They are all talented, so we need to give them an equal chance to compete for the Nigerian jersey. That has been the history and tradition of Nigerian soccer; so the opportunities should be the same. Let them fight for the spots. Whether home or foreign-based, it’s your talent that counts”.
Ahead of the friendly match against Mexico in the United States, Dare said: “It really gladdened my heart when I heard that the team will be traveling to the USA to play a friendly against Mexico. The friendly important as you have an opportunity to showcase your talents and also displace some players in the main team. Ensure that when you go out there you make this country proud. I’m sure the NFF will not just make this a show, I’m sure that Nigerians will see three to six of you eventually end up in the main Super Eagles,” he added.
Meanwhile, there are strong indications that fans will soon be allowed to watch league matches as long as they obey the laid down COVID-19 Protocol.
This assurance was given by the minister when he said: “We hope to see our fans back in the stadiums soon as soon as we establish very strict COVID-19 protocols. We’ll see what we can do about that .The fans are very important to the game so we shall monitor the situation and work with the relevant agencies to actualize this.”
The Nation
