‘Make the Super Eagles more attractive’ – Leon Balogun sends message to NFF

Rangers defender Leon Balogun has called on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to make the Super Eagles more appealing after missing out on several talented players with dual nationality.

The English FA won the battle for Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, even though Eze once trained with the Super Eagles before a cancelled friendly against Burkina Faso in 2017.

Bayern Munich star Michael Olise chose to play for France, despite being approached by former NFF president Amaju Pinnick and even making Nigeria’s provisional squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho.

The NFF also failed to convince Real Madrid’s David Alaba and Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji to represent Nigeria before they played competitive matches for Austria and Switzerland.

Reports on Monday claimed that new England manager Thomas Tuchel is watching Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri, with plans to call him up to the Three Lions. Manchester United striker Chido Obi is also a player to keep an eye on.

Speaking to Ayodele Olu Ibidapo, German-born Balogun reflected on his Nigerian roots and urged the NFF to do more to attract top dual-national players to the Super Eagles.

“There is so much talent. Look at David Alaba, Manuel Akanji, Michael Olise — we missed out on them. Eze, Saka, and many others too,” Balogun said.

“There are still more players coming through. There’s one now at Werder Bremen, Felix Agu. So, it is about sending the right message and making the national team more attractive.

“When I got called up, I felt this was home, my other half calling me to come and discover who I really am.

“Before then, I wasn’t very connected to my Nigerian roots. I’m still learning, and for the past two years, I have been taking Yoruba lessons, which is not easy.”

Nigeria’s run to the 2023 AFCON final was boosted by several dual-national players, including Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey, Ola Aina, William Troost-Ekong, and Samuel Ajayi, all key figures under former coach José Peseiro.