Friday Elahor, a former Nigerian international, has stated that the newly appointed Super Eagles coach’s major responsibility will be to develop, nurture, and expose players in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) via the country’s international games.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) recently announced Jose Peseiro’s appointment as Super Eagles manager. With two friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador scheduled for May 29 and June 3, respectively, as tune-up matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying series, the Portuguese coach has his first duty.
During a press conference this week, Elahor stated that the Eagles’ friendlies should be an opportunity for local-based players to play for the country so that everyone can see what they can offer in terms of talent, adding that many of the country’s former internationals also played their way to the top of their careers by taking advantage of opportunities provided to them.
“Any coach the NFF hires to manage the national team, in my opinion, should not only be the senior national team coach but also the supervising coach for the U17, U21, and U23 teams. In other words, his primary responsibility should be to oversee all of the teams.
“His work should not be limited to the male senior national team.
“His duty should also include watching league games to foster and expose individuals through international friendlies. This is why the coach must test these individuals from our league.
“Whenever we have international matches, we always turn to the side of the foreign-based players, ignoring our home-based guys, which is incorrect. Many of the stars this country has produced began their careers in our local league before moving to Europe.
“I continue to believe that we have several undiscovered talents in our league who have yet to be allowed to play for their country. ” We are fortunate in that we have two friendly opponents in Mexico and Ecuador.
“This is the type of test we need to put these players through so that the rest of the country can see what they’re capable of. The fact that no league exists does not imply that there are no outstanding players in the area. South Africa’s league isn’t greater than ours, yet we see players from their league representing their country frequently. In my opinion, we still have some good players that can represent us well.”
