A scout to the former coach of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has provided another angle In the light of the protest lodged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) against DR Congo for fielding ineligible players against Nigeria in the world cup qualifiers playoff.

NFF petitioned FIFA on several players of DR Congo in that game who were in possession of dual nationality, in conflict to their constitution which doesn’t allow citizens to possess another nationality.

The players in question numbering seven in total didn’t renounce their other citizenship as provided by the constitution of DR Congo before picking up the passport of the African country.

” This is a straightforward case if you ask me because you have to first and foremost be a bonafide citizen of a country before you are eligible to play for an country according to FIFA. It’s clear that you must meet all the national laws for that to happen”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

” I remember when we had Kingsley Ehizubue and Tobias Lawal with the Super Eagles. Ehizubue based on his citizen status in the Netherlands isn’t eligible to get another nationality. So that was how he was not able to play for us after getting an invitation.

” Then there is Lawal, we drafted him in to join us for a friendly game. While with us he wanted to get a Nigerian passport and was told that Austrian laws doesn’t permit dual nationality. We lost out on a promising goalkeeper due to it and he is now a full fledged international for Austria . So rules are rules”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Alebiosu has made a positive impression on his teammates in the Super Eagles camp ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ryan who just turned 24 two days ago is with the Super Eagles squad for the first time with head coach Eric Chelle rewarding his fine performances for his team in the Championship.

He missed the friendly game against Egypt due to logistics involved in his travelling, but he has impressed his teammates in training so far with the way he has acquitted himself.

” He is a very very good player. Highly technical and also very committed”, a player in the team said after their first training session in Morocco.

” When a new player comes into the team. He usually takes time to get used to everything but not him. He has really settled down”, another player revealed.

It’s still unclear if his good performances in training will be enough for him to nick a starting spot in the Super Eagles team for their opening game against Tanzania, or the rest of the tournament.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Alhaji Shehu Dikko has revealed how they found out that some players in the team of Dr Congo that defeated Super Eagles in the world cup qualifiers playoff could be ineligible, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria protested to FIFA challenging the eligibility of around seven players in the team of DR Congo that will represent Africa at the international playoff in Mexico next year.

Top of the protest is that Dr Congo forbids citizens from having dual nationality, and presently couple of players in the team didn’t renounce their other citizenship before getting a DR Congo passport.

In light of that a protest letter was officially sent to FIFA demanding for the win to be awarded to Nigeria, and also be given a chance to represent Africa at the intercontinental playoff.

“So, when we saw the squad that was put in place for the playoffs, the squad was named on November 1 and the playoffs were on November 13, we looked at the squad of our opponents. We found out from the beginning that even the Congolese had already named players of other nationalities who had not been cleared by FIFA in their squad. That was an alarm, so everybody started monitoring, even though the players were not being played.

“This issue did not start because we lost the playoffs. We had been watching what they were doing, and then we found out a day before the qualifiers that they were getting clearances so that the players were qualified to play”, Dikko said in an interview with Arise TV.

“But if you look back, what gave them the confidence to name a player of another nationality in their squad to play a match two weeks later, when he wasn’t qualified to play for them until the day before the match they received permission? That raised alarm for us after the qualifiers,” he explained further.

On the chances of the petition working in favour of Nigeria, Dikko explained that they are confident because there was a breach of the constitution of DR Congo regarding the players.

It is the responsibility of a federation to ensure passports are issued in line with the law. You cannot just issue a passport to someone and change his nationality. If the passport is not issued according to the law of that country, it affects everything,” Dikko said.

“Yes, we lost. Unfortunately, everybody was angry about it. We are not sore losers, but it’s part of the rules. We bring in our legal team, we bring in our international lawyers. We look at the legal opinion, we look at the laws, and we found out there is some suspicion that some things have not been done right according to the laws of the game.

“There are probably, from what we found out, misrepresentations to FIFA to obtain those clearances,” he added

Players of the senior national team of Nigeria arrived in Morocco today for the Africa Cup of Nations ahead of their opening game against Tanzania on the 23rd of December, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

All 28 players made the trip alongside head coach Eric Chelle and his backroom staff from their camp in Egypt, where they played a friendly game that ended 2-1 in favour of their host.

The team will have their first training session later today in Morocco, and it will be the first time the entire team will train together in preparation for the tournament, which starts on the 21st of December.

We can exclusively reveal the shirt number that the players are expected to wear at the tournament, and the name that will be written on them.

1. Uzoho

2. Osayi-Samuel

3. Zaidu

4. Ndidi

5. Ogbu

6. Ajayi

7. Lookman

8. Onyeka

9. Osimhen

10. Dele-Bashiru

11. Chukwueze

12. Dessers

13. Bruno

14. Muhammad

15. Simon

16. Obasogie

17. Iwobi

18. Onyedika

19. Onuachu

20. Awaziem

21. Bassey

22. Akor

23. Nwabali

24. Ejuke

25. Fago

26. Akinsanmiro

27. Alebiosu

28. Nnadi

World football governing body FIFA will go ahead to examine the petition from Nigeria on the eligibility of some players in the sqaud of Dr Congo that defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria to pick a ticket to represent Africa at the intercontinental playoff, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Dr Congo defeated Super Eagles on penalties in the final of the playoff in Morocco, but now face a serious issue that could lead to their expulsion from FIFA tournament if they are found guilty.

Nigeria protested the eligibility of certain players to play for Dr Congo, because they have dual citizenship as against the constitution of Dr Congo, which forbids it’s citizens from having dual nationality unless they renounce the other nationality.

There are also allegations that one of the players of Dr Congo forged some documents to expedite the process of his nationality switch, which he got in three months when it should actually take longer.

In response Dr Congo asked FIFA to dismiss the petition from Nigeria saying the players are eligible on sporting grounds, despite local laws barring them from having dual citizenship.

We can exclusively gathered that FIFA rejected their claims, and will go ahead to investigate the claims from Nigeria with a verdict expected before the intercontinental world cup qualifiers playoff in Mexico, where two tickets will be up for grabs.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The huge task ahead of the newest Eagles’ entrant Zulte Waregem star Tochukwu Nnadi should be a tough headache for the newbie than the ecstacy greeting his invite.

Eagles’ midfield got holes to plug as well as enduring a difficult period that has not yet received presidential approval from the fans.

The last of sweet Eagles’ rhythms was sung by Victor Moses, who doggedly managed to step into the big shoes left by former Eagles’ captain Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha.

Okocha’s nephew Fulham star Alex Iwobi has found his uncle’s shoes too big but not without his occasional brilliance that managed to propel Eagles.

Numbers lacked at some point, stretching the near spineless midfield to a breaking point as even less illustrious adversaries feasted on their tame resistance to punish Eagles.

Moments of brilliance reminiscent of Okocha’s hasn’t returned, still struggling, may take some time to come, assurance hardly in sight and that’s the onerous task that faces the young attacking midfielder.

Confidence hasn’t been in short supply, his tank stores a lot more, skills equally matching, Nnadi could rewrite the broken history in the Eagles’ midfield.

Attracting English Premier League side West Ham United with a £4m carrot barely two years after storming Europe speaks a lot of his promises.

From a Dubai academy to mainstream Europe and flying with the Eagles may have sealed a Bildungsromans’ story in a book or a movie for the attacking midfielder.

His escape from backwaters of Asian football was made possible by his impressive outing at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Argentina where he helped the Flying Eagles halt their flight at the quarter-finals.

Bulgarian side Botev wasted no time and his best shots could still land him further afield the best leagues in Europe.

Along came AFCON 2025 shot to sail Nnadi on and a quick debut just before the tournament gets underway in a few days will only swing or sink the exciting midfielder in the Eagles’ ship.

A late cameo wrapped his Eagles’ baptism before the Pharaohs leaving Nnadi looking like a shooting star. It was as good as it got for the former Flying Eagle in the exciting 2-1 loss in the friendly.

His showings at Botev and Waregem were no smokescreens suggesting some more look-ins in the tournament proper. Nnadi could be on for bigger things.

But first he has to justify his inclusion with the Eagles’ midfield surgically needing attention, only impressive performances will help his place.

Based on his Egypt debut account, coach Eric Chelle could gamble on with him and throw into the deep end when hostilities start again Tanzania on December 23.

Bullish Chelle, a die-hard fan of youthfulness, could choose to start a renaissance with Nnadi, same he did and excelled with injured Benjamin Frederick at Eagles’ back four. Nnadi, here’s your flowers?

Chelle isn’t afraid to explore, to try new things, Nnadi could be on for bigger things. Perhaps, his Christmas is coming too early.

The 22-year old midfielder could be heading for the stars with his wings winging it proudly.

IKENWA ASHIBUOGWU NNABUOGOR

Former Nigeria instead striker Odion Ighlao says head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle should pick Victor Osimhen as the new captain of the team in the wake of the retirement of William Troost-Ekong, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ekong’s retirement has thrown open the role of who will wear the armband at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, which begins on the 21st of December with Nigeria in action on the 23rd against Tanzania.

Like we exclusively reported Chelle has already settled for Wilfred Ndidi as the new captain of the team with Moses Simon as his deputy. Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen complete the hierarchy.

Ighlao who was the top scorer at the 2019 AFCON is however of a different opinion and gave his reasons in an interview with veteran Nigerian journalist Colin Udoh.

“I will pick Victor [Osimhen]. I’ll give you my reason why. Not because he’s the oldest player in the team, but because there are people ahead of him in the team. “There’s like 4 or 5 right now.

“I think Simon is the oldest, there are people ahead of him. But because now Osimhen is doing well, he is in his time. And he has the balls to demand what they want.

“[Wilfred] Ndidi is not a talking type. Indeed he’s a very calm guy. But Osimhen is outspoken. He’s going to speak on behalf of the team.

“He’s gonna ginger the boys. You see in the game sometimes he will say, ‘hey, hey, come on’, you see, sometimes you see him talking loud. You understand, he’s going to fight for the boys. He’s going to speak to anybody he needs to speak to, to make sure they are OK”.

Ade Emmanuel

The senior national team of Nigeria were beaten 1-2 by Egypt in a pre AFCON game meant to keep both teams in shape ahead of the start of the tournament on the 21st of December in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

We pick five things we noticed during the course of the game, which will be Nigeria’s only game before the start of the AFCON where they will be in action against Tanzania on the 23rd of December, in their opening game of the tournament.

Super Eagles Players Are Heavily Talented – Some of the individual ability of the players on parade for Nigeria yesterday was a beauty to behold. It’s now all about channeling that to functioning as a team at the AFCON.

Chelle Profiles Players Wrongly – It was surprising to see Ebenezer Akinsamiro playing in a role behind the striker as opposed to his box to box midfield role. Funnily Fisayo Dele-Bashiru who is more suited to the role was deployed in a role that properly suits Akinsamiro.

Awaziem is Better Off At Right Back – The most experienced defender in the Nigerian team Chidozie Awaziem didn’t cover himself in glory with his performance. For someone who has been in the team since 2017, it’s now clear why his extended run in the team has come as a full back.

Onuachu Is A Menace To Defenders – Paul Onuachu ensured that the defence of Egypt had no rest with his physical approach and also hold up play. Yesterday more than ever he showed that he can be the perfect backup to Victor Osimhen at the AFCON.

Nnadi Will Be Useful At The AFCON – Tochukwu Nnadi showed why he is so highly rated in Belgium with a strong showing. Confident and assured on the ball, he was also very strong in duels by winning back possession without committing any foul. He will definitely be needed at the AFCON.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior national team of Nigeria yesterday lost 1-2 to Egypt in a pre AFCON friendly game in preparation for the start of the tournament in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

We pick five players who didn’t cover themselves in glory in the game, which head coach Eric Chelle used to access some newly invited players and also try out new combinations before their opening game against Tanzania on the 23rd of December.

Cyriel Dessers – Didn’t have more than three touches despite playing for 45 minutes. One of which was a very poor pass to Bruno Onyemaechi. A day to forget for the Panathinaikos man.

Chidozie Awaziem – Scored Nigeria’s lone goal but didn’t show enough leadership and game management for a player who have been in the team since 2017. Guilty of giving the ball away so many times and his poor movement played a role in the first goal Nigeria conceded.

Ebenezer Akinsamiro – The on loan Inter Milan midfielder came into the game with a very high reputation, but didn’t quite deliver as expected largely due to the fact that he was deployed in an unfamiliar position behind the main striker as opposed to his box to box midfield role.

Raphael Onyedika – Needed a statement performance to win over Chelle , who hasn’t given him minutes in four consecutive games, he however failed to make the most of it with a performance that he will want to forget in a hurry

Amas Obasogie – Should have done better for the second goal that went through his body. His ball distribution was also no where close to what Stanley Nwabali offered before he was subbed off.

The senior national team of Nigeria were yesterday beaten 1-2 by Egypt in a pre AFCON friendly game meant to prepare both teams for their campaign at the tournament, which begins on the 21st of December in Morocco.

We pick the player who were top in the game for Nigeria, who will now head to Morocco ahead of their opening game against Tanzania on the 21st of December.

Tochukwu Nnadi – The Zulte-Waregem of Belgium man didn’t look lost in the middle upon his introduction. He immediately started dictating play and didn’t show any sign of a player playing for the first time in the colours of Nigeria.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru – Made some really strong runs at the defence of Egypt from the midfield. Carried a very good threat going forward and also put in a very good defensive shift for the entire duration of the game.

Paul Onuachu – A constant nuisance to the defence of Egypt. Held up play really well, used his body and height to good effect in duels that kept the defence of Egypt pinned back for large spell of the game. Also willing to help out defensively.

Bright Osayi-Samuel – Some of his close ball skills were such a beauty to behold. Linked up nicely with the midfielders and also helped in playing out from the back, if not for the nature of his poor final balls he can easily pass as the best player on the pitch for Nigeria.

Frank Onyeka – He was his usual energetic self. Breaking up plays and helping out in transition. Didn’t lose a single duel and was always available for a pass.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman