Director of Communications, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Ademola Olajire, has described Ademola Lookman as a great addition to the Super Eagles.
World governing body, FIFA, approved Lookman’s switch from England, for whom he helped win the Under-20 World Cup in 2017.
The 24-year-old Leicester City forward was eligible to play for the Super Eagles through his parents and the clearance means that he could play in the two-legged 2022 World Cup play-off against Ghana in March.
And speaking on the switch Olajire, told BBC Sport Africa:“We are excited about this positive news because it comes as a major boost for the national team.
“He’s now eligible to play for Nigeria starting with next month’s matches, but a decision whether to invite him or not is the sole responsibility of the coach.
“Lookman is a great addition to the Super Eagles and after a long wait, we are delighted that he can finally play for us.”
Having represented England at Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 level, Lookman will be looking to play for Nigeria in major tournaments like the AFCON and the FIFA World Cup.
But the process to get him to switch international allegiance began in 2020 when the team secretary Dayo Enebi prepared all the required documents on the NFF’s part.
However, the application suffered a long delay due to the player’s inability to sort out his Nigerian passport and his failure to provide a written request for a change of association in line with FIFA regulations.
Lookman only completed the paperwork this week which enabled the NFF to file a fast track application for his clearance.
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COMMENTS
Still more to be done, Ademola Olajire, but I must confessed you have all done well. God bless NFF.
This information is shocking,does it mean that lookman has been quietly waiting to see if England would call him up all these while and I haven’t seen him make any post concerning his switch,we need 100% commitment from him, otherwise he should leave us to manage chukwueze and co
To say this is what some idiots have accusing Rohr on. Naija people when they want to destroy someone hen
Indeed Lookman is a great addition to Super Eagles. We have Ademola Lookman now but Nigerians are not satisfied yet, they still wanted to bring in Victor Moses. Aba.
It doesn’t work that way my people. When you have a young player who have a strong heart like Lookman, all you have to do is to bring the best out of him. We don’t have V Moses in the team but we have Simon Moses and Lookman. That means we are okay in that area.
We have Chukwueze and Ejuke on the other wing which is very good. We have four good wingers that we can rely on. All needed yo be done is to ask the wingers to play with the team not selfish play.
These are our reliable wingers that we can count on.
Hmm. In this regard, this is where we need the inputs of Eguavoen and Coach Amunike.
Sometimes, it is not about having good players. We saw this against Tunisia.
However, how do the coaches wants these our wingers to play, the time for them to come into the game and how the coaches can use their potentials to win games matter most.
Osimhen…. Osimhen…. Osimhen…., the young striker can not do it all. We are Nigerians and Nigeria have a lot of fantastic, fanterbulous and energetic strikers to support Osimhen.
Osimhen is our point arrow in the team. Our main striker but that is not a enough if our own really mean business to beat Ghana in both encounters and take the world by storm at the world cup.
We need another reliable and dependable alternative striker who can make huge impact when Osimhen is bn caged or not effective in the game.
This is what am expecting from coach Amunike and Eguavoen. They should stop doing tribalism in the team. It is not all about where you come from or play for but it is all about Nigeria.
They should put sentiment aside and select the players who can do the job.
Goalkeeping department. We have so many options to choose from but why must it be Uzoho, Okoye and Akpeyi all the time?
This shows that Super Eagles need a new set of goalkeeper trainers who can scout for raw talents in Nigeria and beyond.
Our first choice is not matured enough to be our number one because he’s for the future while Uzoho is manageable but we have better replacements for the three but again, corruption won’t let our football grow in this country.
Lastly, if we qualify to the world cup good but if we don’t, blame Amaju Pinnick and the coaching crew. Not that we don’t have the players to do the job but to select the right and the best players is the problem.
I saw the picture of Amaju and Ighalo today and that tells me that Ighalo is coming back, that is for sure. Coach Eguavoen is going to waste another spot for Ighalo in the Super Eagles when we have young strikers and goalies that can do the job brilliantly?
Are NFF really building a team for Nigeria or they are just deceiving themselves?
What is Akpeyi, John Noble, Ighalo and coach Agu still doing in the Super Eagles?
If you know you know. Amaju and his company are their to milk Nigeria dry. We won’t allow that to happen.
Amaju Pinnick is a dictator while our own must stand their ground if they have to achieve something better for Nigeria.
For this reason, am going to limit my expectation. Good luck to Super Eagles. Welcome home Ademola Lookman. God bless Nigeria!!!
@omo9ja, kudos for this write-up.
Picnic is trying to bully Cerezo and impose retiree and ineffective Ighalo on the team. You will not see him visit the much needed VM because VM no go drop money.
Finger crossed till the team list is out.
Some times, we are too fast in jumping into conclusion. All these while, we’ve been accusing the NFF of slowing down the switch process,and unknown to us all, it was Lookmans slow slow in writing his switch letter and coupled with his inability to obtain our Passport.
From the information given above, I can deduce that Ademola was still waiting for one last opportunity to see if Southgate would give him a call to the English national team but unfortunate for him, the invitation never materialized. On the other hand, could it be that he was waiting to get his Nigerian passport before writing the request letter? This is a question that I have no answer to.
Anyway, the process has being completed and we additional winger to chose from which will benefit the whole team.
From the last AFCON, we could see Samuel Chukwueze and Ejuke all failed to perform up to expectations which really limited our creatively options from the wing apart from Moses Simeon who gave us an A-level performance we never saw coming.
If only NFF can give it a final try to convince Victor Moses to return, that will surely give the team some boost.
Welcome once again ADEMOLA LOOKMAN.
Lookman is just another addition of an average player to the long list of the already existing average SE players.. Thats why I love Senegal. From back to front you will find world class players in each department. Talk about Mendy to Koulibaly to Kouyate to Mane. Oh my goodness! They are just there as soon the strength of the team..
Kouyate? Who is kouyate to ndidi abi which of their center forward reach osimhen
Ndidi a world class player?? Abeg no make me laff.. you guys just like hyping “your own” Sha. A world class player commiting little but silly error that are only prone to average players? Or didn’t you hear Brenda Rogers after that game with Liverpool? How about that goal against Tunisia? He and Aina are to be blamed before calling out okoye..
Osimhe maybe but I was only referring to those that were paraded at the Afcon.
Even if we have Messi and Ronaldo I don’t know what we gonna make out of it with all these amateur coaches we are parading, common basic critical technical skill they don’t have it, they kept ranting about good performance just because they beat Guinea Bissau and Sudan, with all those players? Can you imagine the Brazilians praising a team that was booted out of a competition in the second round just because they beat Argentina then Peru and Bolivia in the group stage ?
Lookman is far better than clueless Iwobi.
To say this is what some idiots have been accusing Rohr on. Naija people when they want to destroy someone hen
To say this is what some idiots have been accusing Rohr on. Naija people when they want to destroy someone hen. Now they are celebrating a player who only accepted to play after the first option did not materialised while those who willingly accepted without sweeting blood like Okoye,Iwobi etc are being condemn to high heaven just because of one not too bad outing. Just hope this guy will be treated with utmost respect whether good or bad performance unlike what was done to Victor Moses after the world cup against the backdrop of Argentina ouster, same Mosses they are now shouting up and down to have in their team. Like some people used to forget things easily.
Ndidi a world class player?? Abeg no make me laff.. you guys just like hyping “your own” Sha. A world class player commiting little but silly error that are only prone to average players? Or didn’t you hear Brenda Rogers after that game with Liverpool? How about that goal against Tunisia? He and Aina are to be blamed before calling out okoye..
Osimhe maybe but I was only referring to those that were paraded at the Afcon.
Bro are you a bot? I don’t understand some of your comments…I also have more belief in Rohr than Egu but right now is not the time to start talking ‘Nigerian players’ down. These days it just feels as if you are ranting all over the place. Though I agree we over-hype our players but we do have a good squad all the same. And bro please Ndidi is miles ahead of Kouyate. Check their ratings for this season. Ndidi was played as a CB against Liverpool and did pretty well for someone played out of his main position bar the first goal. Even Rodgers said Ndidi – Amartey played well together.
Are you kidding me?? From the just concluded Afcon we just watched, you rank and rate Ndidi ahead of cheikhou kouyate? The same Kouyate that Marshall the midfield from scratch all the way to the final(suspended for two games though) against Ndidi that could have block that shot from going in thereby causing us an embarrassing round of 16 exit that y’all with your master pinick is celebrating or which one?
Oga, since Rohr was sacked, your comments have been so biased and unrelated. Kouyate is definitely not a match for Ndidi, and that’s not even an argument. Kouyate played alongside Gueye and Mendy, hence, that performance.
Rohr sacking (wether justified or not) is part of the game, so, I don’t see the sense in channelling all your energy on talking down our own players and condemning the team because Rohr was sacked.
LMFAO!Oga have you read me being biased on Moses Simon,(That gave a world class showing of himself at the Afcon) Aribo or kelz(with his world class strike against Egypt)? The truth is Kouyate gave a world class account of himself at the just concluded Afcon why your overhyped Ndidi and co was average at the same competition! Read deep and follow the basis of an arguments don’t just jump in like someone frustrated and wants to end it all inside the lagoon.LMFAO!!
Lets not forget that the experience of this same Kouyate also came handy in 2019 when they reach the final against Algeria but lost out unfortunately.
I tell most of you that premier league football is different from Country football but y’all won’t listen.
Lookman wow your welcome to the team. A very fast, skillful and creative player. I like the fact that he can run down the line or cut into the midfield whenever he has the ball. Good passing ability.
I think he can challenge for a place in the Super Eagles.
I can see him on the left wing with Dennis on the right, and Osimhen upfront.
I would prefer Aribo playing the number 10 role so he can be close to the attackers.
That will leave Ndidi and a fit Etebo to hold the midfield, or ndidi and Raphael (too soon?), ok then Ndidi and A. Yusuf.
I cant say much for the centre backs four but aina and zaidu are the full backs.
Then uzoho should start in goal.
I like Raphael Nwadike! I don’t think it’s too soon. That boy is good. Forgot to include him in my list of DMs in a previous thread.
“and his failure to provide a written request for a change of association in line with FIFA regulations.
Lookman only completed the paperwork this week which enabled the NFF to file a fast track application for his clearance”.
This speaks volumes on why his clearance was delayed. He did not file his paper work; probably because of the possibility of going to the world cup.
But to put a positive spin on this, he is a very good footballer. A play making winger like Hazard and would bring additional competition particularly for the left wing. The competition will be unforgiving, with Kalu at Watford, Ejuke at CSK Moscow, Moses at Nantes and Lookman at Leicester.
I reiterate that Nigeria has a very good team, they only need to strengthen certain departments like gk and midfield. I see certain fans are still canvassing for Okoye despite his many flops from time to time (At times, we have to learn the hard way). They say the words of the elders, if it does come true during the day, it would definitely come true at night.
The young man needs time to grow and he is not fit to man the goal for Nigeria, at least not now. One of the task the technical crew need to urgently do is to find a very competent goal tender before the March games. We must comb the entire globe to find a reliable gk.
Finally, the midfield needs more work, particularly the attacking midfield. Amoo needs to be drafted in to fill that void. We can try him out in friendly before the crucial tie. I think Bonke needs to be looked into as replacement /competition for Ndidi. I like Kingsley Michael too. Our midfield should be Ndidi, Bonke, Aribo, Kingsley Michael, Iwobi & Amoo.
Will this happen? Very unlikely, Knowing the lot at NFF, you will see etebo as a replacement for Kingsley Michael and Frank Onyeka for Bonke. Amoo would not get a look in.
They should try their luck with M.olise also, the world cup carrot can be dangled to him.
Apart from Ademola Lookman ,the NFF and the Augustine Eguavoen-led Super Eagles coaching crew should fast-track the capping of the following players with dual nationality for Nigeria. All of them have already pledged allegiance to Nigeria and most of them may not be needing FIFA’s clearance to lace their boots for the three-time African Champions…
1.Ovie Ejaria(Reading FC and England )
2.Sheyi Ojo(Millwall FC and England)
3.Chuba Akpom(PAOK,Greece and England)
4.Viv Solomon Otabor(Rukh Lyiv,Ukraine and England)
5.Nathan Tells(Southampton FC and England)
6.Calvin Bassey(Glasgow Rangers,Scotland and Italy/England)
7.Noah Sarenren Bazee(FC Augsburg and Germany)
8.Felix Agu(Weder Bremen and Germany)
9.Kingsley Ehizibue(FC Koln,Germany and The Netherlands/Germany)
10.Dominic Iorfa( Sheffield Wednesday and England)
11.Tobias Okiki Lawal(Austria)
12.Sebastian Osigwe(FC Lugano and Switzerland)
13.Osaze Urhoghide(KV Oostende,Belgium and The Netherlands/England)
14.Uche Destiny Obiogumu(TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Germany)
15.Ayo Obileye (playing in Scotland’s premier league ,from England)
I was not happy when former Super Eagles coach,Gernot Rohr,failed to cap-tie Glasgow Rangers left-back, Calvin Bassey ,for Nigeria when the later honoured the last call up into the Super Eagles. The two-legged World Gup Qualifying play-off games in March against the Black Stars of Ghana present anothet handsome opportunity.Although it is risky and may not be wise to experiment with games of such magnitude, Nathan Tella and Calvin Bassey could ,at least,be given game time even for few minutes in the games.The more ,they say,the merrier.My thoughts though.
See wetin NKPURU MIRI dey cause o! Someone was asking me if am a robot because I always come into convoy with an open mindset rather than na “our players o” and the “I get am before or now but na for only premier league mindset” And like I said my arguments is based on the just concluded Afcon not some club football shit!
Are you kidding me?? From the just concluded Afcon we just watched, you rank and rate Ndidi ahead of cheikhou kouyate? The same Kouyate that Marshall the midfield from scratch all the way to the final(suspended for two games though) against Ndidi that could have block that shot from going in thereby causing us an embarrassing round of 16 exit that y’all with your master pinick is celebrating or which one?
Lets not forget that the experience of this same Kouyate also came handy in 2019 when they reach the final against Algeria but lost out unfortunately.
I tell most of you that premier league football is different from Country football but y’all won’t listen.
@Hilary, From your list above, methinks only four or five of the lot merits a mention.amongst whom are:
Ejaria
Bassey
Nathan Tella
Felix Agu
Seyi Ojo…
Others are either already cap-tied to their country of birth,not willing or sub par for our level
Welcome lookman and I also pray for a fitter and inform Samuel kalu.
People should please stop talking about undisciplined and uncommitted players like Dennis on this platform
LMFAO! And instead of all you Eguavon fans to blame Your overhyped Ndidi for allowing Youssef to much of time and space to take that shot, you are blaming GENERAL ROAH discovery(Okoye).. Because anything that has to do with ROAH is bad.. isn’t that also being biased and sentimental? But if I talk they will say am angry because ROAH was sacked..SMH…
@CutePrince,it is not true that some of the players I listed above have been cap-tied by foreign countries. Bar the duo of defender Kingsley Ehizibue(FC Kiln,Germany) and goalkeeper Tobias Okiki Lawal(LASK Linz,Austria) who had problems securing Nigerian passports or giving up both Dutch and Austrian nationalities ,after pledging their international allegiances to Nigeria,the rest of the players listed are still very much eligible to play for the Super Eagles. England-born Ayo Obileye of Livingston of Scotland and Dutch-born Osaze Urhoghide have honoured invites to our national team’s set up in the past and they alongside Nathan Tella,Calvin Bassey,Swiss-born goalkeeper Sebastian Osigwe,Noah Sarenren Bazee do not need FIFA clearance to play for Nigeria. Check the records even Osigwe,Bassey and Bazee have been called up before by Gernot Rohr and they all honoured the invites. As for their being suitable to play in the Super Eagles,let the national team coaches decide that. All the same ,thank you for your comments. We can talk more,bro.You can reach me on my email address [email protected] .Thanks.
Thanks king Hilary, I’ll definitely get across to you soon… I still insist that players mustn’t be begged to play for us but they should go the extra mile in contacting the technical/scouting department of the NFF to show how serious they are in dorning our colours.
Cuteprince,I agree with you totally that players with dual nationalities should not be begged to play for Nigeria. Still yet,the NFF and the national team’s coaches should on the other hand encourage those of them who make themselves available to dorn our national colours out of their own volition and conviction. It took only the sacking of German gaffer, Gernot Rohr,for players like Cyriel Desserts,Calvin Bassey and Kevin Akpoguma to be discarded from our AFCON 2021 Squad. Tyrone Ebuehi only managed to make the team just because Cyprus-based Abdullahi Shehu got injured. After putting so much effort recruiting these players,we need to encourage them. This will even make the unwilling and recalcitrant ones to have a change of heart and pledge their international allegiance to Nigeria.