NPFL players snub killing our league – Egwuekwe

Former Super Eagles defender, Azubuike Egwuekwe, has said that the decision to pick only goalkeepers from the Nigeria Premier Football League in Nigeria’s 41-man provisional list for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is killing the league.

The Confederation of African Football confirmed all provisional squads of the 24 participating teams on Wednesday, putting to rest rumours that have clouded Nigeria’s list.

The Eagles list only accommodated three NPFL goalkeepers Olorunleke Ojo of Enyimba, Christian Nwoke of Sporting Lagos and Bendel Insurance’s Amas Obasogie.

Due to the absence of NPFL outfield players, Egwuekwe believes that coach Jose Peseiro should have taken a cue from the late Stephen Keshi, who fielded six NPFL players at Nigeria’s last triumph at the continental showpiece in South Africa in 2013.



“The more you encourage the home-based players in the league, the more the league grows. When you are going to competitions, and you don’t use any player from the league, you only take goalkeeper, and then you’re trying to tell the world that Nigeria doesn’t have a league.

“If late Stephen Keshi did not locate people like us, Nigeria will not know somebody like me today, Godfrey Oboabona, Reuben Gabriel, Sunday Mba among others and you have to continue like that so that you will prove to the world that these guys are big in the league, the younger ones who are coming up will be more encouraged.

“I play well in the league, I will get a call up to the national team, to the Super Eagles not even U-20 or U-23, because if you only encourage those that are born and brought up abroad, then you’re trying to tell everyone that Nigeria doesn’t have a league,” Egwuekwe who won the AFCON as a home-based player in 2013 told The PUNCH.




He added that it wasn’t compulsory that the home based stars got the most representation in the national side.

“I’m not saying you should call everyone from the league to come and join Super Eagles, at least, two, three, four from the league to join the professionals is okay. From there, you’ll keep on encouraging. During our own set, it was the home-based who qualified Nigeria for the African Cup of Nations and World Cup,” he stated.

At the 2013 AFCON, home-based foward (Sunday) Mba stepped up. After he scored the winning goal in Nigeria’s 2–1 quarter-final win over Ivory Coast, he then scored the first and only goal of the game in the final against Burkina Faso, to hand Nigeria the title.

The AFCON will kick off on January 13, 2024 in Ivory Coast and Nigeria’s camp is expected to open December 29 in Saudi Arabia, while the final 27-man list will be released January 3, 2024.