Disregard for NPFL players bane of our league, says Chukwu

Former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu, has said that the reason Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is currently in a sorry state is due to lack of commitment by the players, who now see traveling outside the country to play professional football as springboard to adorning the green and white jersey of the Super Eagles.

Chukwu, who regretted the dwindling fortune of the league, pointed at apathy on the part of players, aside from proper funding, as contributing to the league’s poor state.

He said Nigerian players should correct the impression that it’s only when they play for club sides abroad that’s when they are good enough for invitation.

“One of the things spoiling our league today is that you see a player in a league match today, and tomorrow, if he is called to play for a club in Afghanistan, where they are fighting war, he will go. He believes that if he doesn’t go, he may never have the chance to play for the Super Eagles.

“I still believe we have very good players in the NPFL, if only the coach can live in Nigeria and start training with them. The positions he finds deficient, he can then invite the foreign-based players to fill such because this is how it was done in those days,” he said, adding that local-based players should also be invited without any limitation.

“A situation where you regulate the invitation of the NPFL players to the national camp, but invite the foreign-based players liberally, is discouraging. This definitely will make the league not go well and even the players back home not showing the confidence to play at home again.

“This is why some players will go to Benin Republic, Ghana and so on to also become foreign-based players. Though I see our current team as being very strong, it also has to be a mixture of the good ones from the domestic league,” he stated.