Former Nigeria U17 trainee Ovie Ejaria will likely not be able to make his debut for the senior national team of Nigeria next month even if he gets the all clear from FIFA on his application to switch allegiance to Nigeria from England, owngoalnigeria.com understands.
Ejaria has already applied for a switch of nationality from England to Nigeria after representing England at various youth levels, the 22 year old fancies his chances with the senior national team of Nigeria than that of England.
The former Liverpool midfielder who only recently concluded a move to Reading on a permanent deal from Liverpool after impressing while on loan last season is facing another hurdle in his quest to represent Nigeria.
Sources close to the player revealed to Owngoalnigeria that he is yet to be issued a fresh Nigerian passport, no thanks to the coronavirus pandemic which brought about the lockdown and closure of offices.
Although it’s still unclear if he has been given the green light by FIFA to make his switch to Nigeria, it’s also not clear if he will be allowed to play for Nigeria without a Nigerian passport in a friendly game even if he gets his documents sorted before then.
We understand that he is hopeful of sorting it out before the end of the year but will be glad if the process is completed in time in order for him to make his Super Eagles debut next month, which is also dependent on approval by FIFA.
Michael James
