Five players have become ineligible to feature for Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles at this year’s Africa Nations Championship in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.
The players are Abubakar Sadiq (Plateau United), Philip Adejo (Abia warriors), Saviour Isaac (Rangers), Papa Daniels Mustapha (Niger Tornadoes) and Waliu Ojetoye (Ikorodu city).
According to the team’s media officer Promise Efoghe, the five players have all moved out to sign for clubs outside of Nigeria.
Efoghe also revealed that Ifeanyi Onyebuchi of Rangers and Ebenezer Harcourt will not be part of the squad for the tournament.
The spokesperson disclosed that Onyebuchi is injured and will not report to camp while Harcourt of Sporting Lagos will be busy with the Flying Eagles at the U-20 WAFU B tournament in Ghana.
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CHAN is a biennial African association football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2009 and first announced in September 2007.
The participating teams must consist of players playing in their national league competitions.
The DR Congo and Morocco are the most successful teams in this tournament with two titles each, followed by Tunisia, Libya and incumbent champions Senegal with one title each.
The tournament began in 2009 with eight teams, which was doubled for the second edition up until the sixth and is currently contested by 18 teams since the 2022 edition.
Since the 2014 edition, matches of every edition of this tournament from qualification to the final will be computed to calculate the forthcoming FIFA World Rankings following its conclusion, which CAF exclaimed at the time as an important step for the competition’s development.
Under the late Stephen Keshi, the home-based Super Eagles finished third at their debut in 2014.
At the 2018 edition, they went all the way to the final before suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat to hosts Morocco.
Meanwhile, the number of players in the home-based Super Eagles camp in Ikenne is 28 follow the arrival of Abia warriors duo of Anthony Ijeoma and Sunday Megwo.
By James Agberebi
