Abia Warriors defender, Ifeanyi Anaemena, has voiced his disappointment at the absence of outfield players from the Nigeria Professional League (NPFL) in the Super Eagles squad for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
While goalkeepers Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba International), Amas Obasogie (Bendel Insurance), and Christian Nwoke (Sporting Lagos) from the NPFL made the shortlist, there is a notable absence of outfield players from the domestic league.
Anaemena, who received his first Super Eagles call-up under former coach Gernot Rohr, expressed his discontent, seeing the omission as disrespectful to the NPFL.
He conveyed his frustration via PUNCH, stating, “It is an insult and it shows to the world that the league is not valued.”
The defender believes that the exclusion of outfield players from the NPFL sends the wrong message about the league’s worth, contributing to players’ reluctance to participate in the domestic league upon returning from abroad.
The Abia Warriors player pointed out that NPFL stars often seek opportunities in other leagues like Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, where the league is more highly regarded. Anaemena criticized the decision-makers in Nigerian football, asserting that the league’s disrespect is a significant factor influencing players’ choices.
He emphasized the success of the NPFL players in the AFCON tournament under former coach Stephen Keshi in 2013. Keshi included six home-based players in his final squad, and one of them, Sunday Mba, scored the winning goal in the final against Burkina Faso, securing Nigeria’s third AFCON title.
Anaemena believes that maintaining Keshi’s winning template, which valued NPFL players, would have been a more successful approach.
The disappointment over the exclusion of outfield NPFL players from the AFCON squad has sparked discussions about the league’s status and its representation on the national team.
The AFCON tournament is scheduled to commence on January 13 and will run until February 11.
