Connectnigeria Articles

By Obi Martins Okafor

Photo: Stephen Keshi; Credit: www.goal.com

A friend of mine always says: “Liberation cannot come without trials.” Such is the situation with super Eagles head coach, Steven Okechukwu Keshi and his Philosophy to stick with the Home based players as the bed rock of his team. Severe criticism has emerged from all quotas concerning the unconvincing performance of the current Eagles Team which is highly dominated by the Home groomed talent. Many are advising him to bring in more foreign based players stating that, football is judged by performance and no one cares about the developing process. However, Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has earned commendations from world football governing body, FIFA, following his insistence on using mostly home-based players in Nigeria World and Africa Nations Cup qualifying matches. Making the commendation, FIFA consultant and instructor, Brendon Menton, disclosed that Keshi’s decision to build his team with home-based players was in line with FIFA’s programmes to develop the local leagues of member-nations which, he noted, aims at ensuring that players in a country’s league form the heart of its national team. The Ireland-born instructor, who was in Nigeria to train managers and secretaries of the local football clubs, noted that FIFA has been committed to the development of the leagues of member-federations, adding that the world football body has committed a large portion of its funds to development programmes that would improve the standard of member-states football. Though most of the criticism comes from renowned and seasoned football administrators, Keshi must be aware that the final decision still remains his to make. He should not allow the opinions floating in the air to affect his Judgment.