Ahmed Musa wants more opportunities for home-based players in Eagles

Nigeria’s captain Ahmed Musa speaks during the pre-match press conference (Photo by Daniel Beloumou Olomo / AFP)

.Pleads for patience, affirms Nigeria ‘ll win 2024 AFCON

Super Eagles’ Captain, Ahmed Musa, has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to encourage coaches of the national teams to look inwards for players rather than relying wholly on overseas-born players of Nigerian descent.

Musa, a product of the moribund Nigerian youth development system, said the Super Eagles have been performing poorly because the team is built on shaky foundation, noting that although overseas-born players have brought certain quality to the national teams, some of them don’t have the doggedness and resilience to take the country to its desired heights.

Speaking at the weekend during the Lagos launch of the ‘Let’s do It Again’ campaign, which is aimed at galvanising support for the Super Eagles to win the Cote d’Ivoire 2024 African Cup of Nations, Musa said bringing in home-grown players would give the national team a solid foundation to grow.

He said: “I want to say that we have to go back to the basics, the local league. I started from the local league and grew to play overseas.
“We have many players in the local league good enough to vie for shirts in the Super Eagles. What are they playing for if we don’t invite them to the Super Eagles. We must encourage them to get the best out of them.
“Now, everyone wants to go to Europe because they think that the Nigerian league is not recognised by our people; that is not right.”

He urged Nigerian league clubs to meet their obligations to players, saying that owing players that toil for the clubs is another way to drive them away from the system.

“Even if it is N500,000, you must pay them