Recently, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen expressed his disappointment over the exclusion of home-based players from the national team.

At the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), head coach Eric Chelle did not include a single player from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in his squad.

“I felt disappointed that we did not include any NPFL players in the AFCON team,” Eguavoen told Footy Africa.
“Some players in the squad may not even get a minute of action, so why couldn’t we have included a few local league players? At least three or four would have been better.”

The debate over the inclusion of domestic players in the Super Eagles has been ongoing for years, with strong opinions on both sides.

“The current crop of NPFL players is simply not at the level of former stars like Sunday Mba and Godfrey Oboabona, who lifted the AFCON trophy under the late Stephen Keshi,” Victor Oluwafemi, Content Lead at Football 411, said.
“Since 2019, only John Obu and Ezenwa have made it to AFCON. The league isn’t among Africa’s top 10, and its players struggle to compete with foreign-based counterparts for a spot in the national team.

“If the league’s quality improves, coaches like Chelle could trust NPFL players more, just as Keshi and others did in the past,” he added.

Oluwafemi also noted that during Eguavoen’s tenure as Eagles head coach, NPFL players were not a priority.
“In as much as Eguavoen wants to play the nationalist card, his criticism isn’t constructive. Coming to the public now seems more like looking for sympathy or explaining why Nigeria did not perform well at AFCON. Can he also explain why only John Obu was invited to his 2021 AFCON squad?”

While Eguavoen’s remarks might be performative, Oluwafemi believes it is ultimately up to Chelle to make squad decisions.
“I think Chelle has shown some faith in the NPFL by inviting players like Harcourt in the past, even though the team underperformed during CHAN. He should select the best players for Nigeria, and unfortunately, the NPFL currently does not provide enough options for that. That may not change until the league’s quality improves.”