Former Super Eagles defender, Sam Sodje has expressed concern over the NFF’s current approach to recruiting foreign born players is problematic.
Speaking in a chat with Brila.net, Sodje said he fully supports the inclusion of foreign based players.
However, he stressed that the lack of attention given to home based players is creating an imbalance in the team.
“There is nothing wrong in inviting foreign born based players to play for the national team.
“Coming from myself who was born in London, but, I had the chance to play for my national team, it became the best time of my life and every player will tell you that.
“But that’s not the problem. The problem is the manner of the way the NFF is doing it. That’s the problem,” he said.
Sodje recalled there was a deliberate effort to maintain a mix of players from both local and international leagues.
“I think that when we were playing we had about three to five home based players in camp, so the pool of players to pick from was both abroad and home based.
“But at the moment, the last regime of the NFF have forgotten about the local league and they prioritize going abroad to pick players regardless of the players’ capability.
“A player will just make one debut, regardless of the club he makes the debut for in the UK, and you are qualified to play for the national team. I think that is where the problem is,” he added.
He further emphasized the need for the NFF to invest in the domestic league, to build a reliable pool of talent for the national team.
“If they can at least work on the league, it will be better.
“We know the league in Nigeria is very bad, but it is their job to ensure that the league is decent and to ensure we have a pool of players to pick from,” Sodje concluded.
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The debate over the neglect of the domestic league has continued to generate criticism from former players and the Nigerian public.
Many believe that the Nigeria Premier Football League has been sidelined in favour of foreign based talent.
According to the 2025 rankings by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, the NPFL is currently ranked 91st globally, a drop of 15 places from its 76th position in 2024.
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