Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has declared that Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations did not come to him as a surprise. Fashola, a former football star, who still finds time to play alongside other ex players at the All Stars International of Lagos, said on Channels Television Friday, that the majority of the Eagles players Coach Stephen Keshi used in the qualifying campaign were average players who could not boast of full 90 minutes of action in their respective clubs abroad.
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State
The Governor noted that it was time the coach of the senior national team looked for experienced players who were match fit when making call ups for national assignments.
“Except for Ahmed Musa who we see every week making first eleven for his club in Russia and in the Champions League, hardly can we see any other player in the Super Eagles who is regular for 90 minutes for his club abroad. The majority of them only played for 15 minutes as substitutes and we expect them to come for a national duty to play a full match? I saw Musa as the only versatile player in our team, which is not supposed to be,” Fashola said.
The Governor said the solution to the problem in the Eagles is for the country to go back and develop the local league from which the pool of the Eagles will always come in the future.
He said grassroots sports development is a policy of the government in Lagos State to discover and groom talents from the grassroots.
Fashola also frowned at the involvement of governments in the administration of football clubs in the country, adding that government at all levels should be regulators not operators of clubs.
“That’s why I refused to put government money into the running of football clubs in Lagos because we cannot be the sole owner of clubs, which have to be private sector driven teams,” he said.
Meanwhile, former junior international and Gaziantepspor of Turkey defender, Gbenga Arokoyo, has described the Eagles failure to qualify for next year’s Africa National cup tournament as a major setback as well as a sad moment for the country’s football.
Arokoyo was invited to the Flying Eagles squad back in 2010 while he played for Kwara United in the Nigeria Premier League.
The player disclosed that he hoped the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will go back to the drawing board to set things right.
“It’s feels very bad. Especially, we feel sorry for the fans because they deserve the best from the team and missing out on this major competition calls for lots of reflection.
“I suppose now the Federation will go back and look at where it all went wrong and build from ground up if necessary,” he said.
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