Sports facilities expert, Ebi Egbe of Monimichelle Sports Facilities Construction, has explained why
Super Eagles coaches find it structurally difficult to confidently include Nigeria Professional Football
League (NPFL) players in competitive national team squads.

No player featuring in the NPFL was included in the Super Eagles squad to the recently concluded AFCON in Morocco, a situation, which did not go down well with NFF Technical Director, Augustine Eguavoen.

According to Egbe, the issue is neither sentimental nor political but rooted in systemic and technical
constraints, top among them is poor and inconsistent quality of playing surfaces across NPFL venues.

He told The Guardian that modern elite football is designed for high performance pitches that support fast ball movement, predictable bounce, reliable traction, and consistent footing under pressure conditions that most NPFL pitches fail to meet.

Egbe explained that players who train weekly on slow, uneven natural grass or sub-standard artificial
surfaces develop a football “operating system” conditioned to survival football rather than progressive, high-speed decision making.

“In contrast, international football demands decisions within 0.5 to 1 second, where a poor first touch or delayed pass often leads to turnovers or counter-attacks,” he said.

The Bayelsa-born sports facilities expert, further stated that physical metrics such as acceleration, deceleration, change of direction, and fatigue management cannot be accurately assessed on inconsistent pitches.

“As a result, players who dominate locally may struggle to cope with elite tempo abroad, making their selection a high-risk decision for national team coaches operating under intense scrutiny and limited preparation time.”

Egbe also highlighted the psychological shock NPFL players experience when exposed to elite playing surfaces for the first time, noting that the speed of the ball, intensity of pressing, and rapid closure of space often cause hesitation not due to lack of talent, but lack of conditioning.

He stated that despite these challenges, NPFL players are not inferior but “environment-specific.”

According to him, they are optimised for Nigerian pitch realities, where slow ball roll, higher friction, irregular bounce, and physical duels dominate play.

“This local surface intelligence makes NPFL players particularly valuable in home matches played on sub-elite surfaces,” he stated.

Egbe proposed a ‘functional fusion’ model rather than outright exclusion, suggesting that foreign- based players bring tactical structure, speed of execution, and elite game management, while NPFL players contribute surface familiarity, physical resilience, and rhythm control.

“To me, this combination can stabilise Nigeria’s home performances if applied deliberately.”

He concluded that once Nigeria fixes its pitch ecosystem, NPFL players will naturally earn their place in the team.