Gusau eyes reduction in foreign-born Super Eagles stars

Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim Gusau, has hinted at a move that will see him reduce the number of foreign-born players in the Super Eagles.

The newly elected Nigerian chief in an interview with Tribune said there is a need for this move in other to instill the African mentality in the Super Eagles.

Gusau argues that the current Super Eagles have ‘Oyinbo Mentality’ and since most of the national team games are played in Africa it is right to use players based in Nigeria.

“We so much rely on the foreign players. We have to because you and I know that our league is not where it ought to be. So, we cannot rely on players that one is not sure of and one can only be sure of players you see performing in his club week in and week out.

“I have been trying to see how they (coaches) can get some players from the domestic league but there are arguments they put on the table that one cannot dispute.

“They say if they invite a home-based player for an international match and he does well, a few months later he would become a foreign player. Then start searching for another one to fit in, who will also travel abroad after two or three matches.

“As for me, what to do is try and see how we can reduce the higher number of the Nigerian born in diaspora players in the team. I am not saying they’re not Nigerians nor saying they’re not good enough but their mentality is not good for African football.

“And most of the matches we played are in Africa. At the global level, we only go for tournaments or friendly matches. But all our qualifiers are played within Africa.

“Most of these teams out of 54 countries in Africa, almost 46 countries use the bulk of African players. So many of them use players that are used to African football with the right mentality of African football.

“So, if we bring in players born abroad without an African mentality, there will be problems. But we don’t have a problem with players who are born here and are playing in Europe because they started here,” he concluded.