President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick says the body will not beg Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka to play for the Super Eagles, Completesports.com reports.
Saka, 18, has been turning heads since making his first-team debut for the Gunners in 2018 under former manager Unai Emery.
The versatile winger, who has been with the North London club since he was seven-years old has impressed with his trickery, dribbling skills and eye for a killer pass.
Though he has represented England at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 levels, Saka remains eligible to play for Nigeria at senior level.
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Super Eagles head manager Gernot Rohr recently stated that players must first show interest in playing for the three-time African champions before an invitation can be extended to them.
Pinnick insists there are a lot of talented players , who are willing to represent the country and the NFF won’t persuade Saka to switch allegiance.
“There are many players that play like Bukayo Saka in Nigeria. We don’t want to go begging any player,” Pinnick stated in an Instagram live chat on Thursday.
Saka will remain at the Emirates Stadium for the foreseeable future after committing to the Gunners earlier this month.
By Adeboye Amosu
14 Comments
Good! That’s the way to go. We can only show a formal interest and that ends there. No need to start lobbying around like we did in the case of Abraham and tomori (who has found a new flat on the bench). If it’s their desire to play for us, then they should reciprocate the first contact of interest through genuine available channels as rohr rightly pointed out before.
You are right my brother interest first
Hhehehehehe…Pinnick has learnt his lessons….LMAO.
Seems Oga Pinnick has “rediscovered” his status. In the first place, he was the one who embarked on this illegal scouting mission, posing with players he hoped to lure into the SuperEagles, all over London. Of course, the NFF was footing the bill for such photoshops.
With the advent of the racist host country turning against our players who opted to represent them–calling them unprintable names–do we need to beg them to play for us? Tammy Abraham’s miserable case comes to mind.
I sure think we are doing them a favour for inviting them to join us.
I honestly hope you’ve truthly learnt your lesson. Sometimes I don’t understand what our so called administrator call themselve because Tammy Abraham is your friend son you think that gave you the audacity to believe he’s going to play for Nigeria, even Timothy weah whose father is the president of Liberia is playing for US. Until we learn how to do the right thing in Africa, we will always lose our best to the foreign land.
Yes Pinnick might have gone wrong in certain aspects, but in so many aspects he deserves commendation. He is only human just like we all are. I honestly won’t put the blame of some foreign based players turning down playing for Nigeria on him, but the foolishness of all such players, who tend to celebrate to ” heaven” a white man’s association and look down on their kind. It takes rare sense of humility for someone of Amaju’s status to do all he did to get these players to commit to Nigeria. That shows his deep rooted passion for Nigeria football. Quite unfortunate, the said players made mockery of Amaju’s humility though, reason he has decided to go this way, which I personally will support 100%. NIGERIA/SE IS MIGHTIER THAN ANYONE, LOVE ME OR HATE ME, I CARE LESS.
I said the exact words last week or so and I am very happy today that Mr. President is passing the message over to the player.
Saka should be the one begging Nigeria and not other way round.
The level of favorism is too much around the NFF and the Super Eagles coaches. The same NFF president went to the UK to begged Tammy Abraham to play for Nigeria. We also have many good goalkeepers but the chief coach of the team opted for Akpeyi as number one goalkeeper till today. Equal rights should be practice in the team.
So, Mr. Pinnick have forgotten that There were many players that plays like Bukayo Saka in Nigeria before he went straight to the UK to bagged “Tammy Abraham”? and now he said “We don’t want to go begging any player Pinnick stated in an Instagram live chat on Thursday”.
Hmm. Chai, who is fooling who between NFF president and the people around the Super Eagles?
I am suspecting NFF and the coaches of the Super Eagles now.
So, they just know that we have players in Nigeria?
I hope some of my colleagues on here are reading this today?
We have so many players in Nigeria that are good enough to compete with Super Eagles players. Yes we have them in the country. NFF, coach Rohr and coach Agu can’t deny that.
Mr. Westerhof were scouting for raw talents in Nigeria and he built a fantastic team for Nigeria.
If I may ask, how many foriegn based players did we have during the Westerhof when he started building the Super Eagles?
Can I say coach Rohr and NFF are lazy to do their assign tasks or what?
What are they trying to say to those players back home? They are not Nigerians or they are not good enough?
There are many fantastic players like Kanu, Okocha and so on in Nigeria but this our NFF doesn’t have plans for these players and they are nothing to the NFF because they don’t have money and they are local but they can go to the United Kingdom to beg foreign based players to represent Nigeria? Are you kidding me Mr. Amaju?
I will keep telling you people the truth no matter what. Nigeria must be among the best locally and globally. God bless Nigeria!!!
Liar! when did u say that?? When?? Can u copy and paste here where you said that, failure do so will confirm u to be the father of lies after the devil and Lai mohammed, in fact both of them don Dy fear you now. You’re just full of lies. And wait, are u calling nff and rohr lazy for not scouting domestic players when they have a talented chief scout like you? Abi u no sabi your job again? You’re the the lazy and stupid one bcs you have failed to do your job well. Go scout domestic players for the eagles , stop surfing the internet looking for any player of Nigerian descent that pops up somewhere on the internet. Anu offia!
“…If I may ask, how many foriegn based players did we have during the Westerhof when he started building the Super Eagles?….”
You were claiming to be Mr Methuselah here 24 hrs ago…you tell us how many foreign based footballers Nigeria had in 1989 when Westerhoff took over na. Tell us where the best Nigerian players were based in 1989 and where the best Nigerian players are based in 2020. Even the team Westerhoff won the AFCON and qualified to the world cup for the 1st time with were almost 100% foreign based players (only semitoje and fuludu where homebased for AFCON and 0 homebased for world cup). Why didnt Westerhoff drop foreign based and go for home based when he was going to 1994 AFCON and World cup if they were better…???? Continue comparing apples to agbalumo.
Have you stopped being a scout…? There are many players like Kanu and Okocha why has it been so difficult for you to “scout/discover” even 1 player from your backyard there as you always claim…LMAO…..Hahahahah…no youtube vidoes for you to see and come and brag you discovered them….Lolz. It is foreign based players whom you read about from the internet you always come here to make noise about…LMAO
Omo9ja is “talking rot” (as my late father used to say) in bad English.
Let’s wait if this man has learned his lesson or, let’s give 4months.
OGA PINNICK, SE U DON FORGET SE DOLLAR IS HIGHER THAN NAIRA, SO THOSE IN JIGERIA CAN’T AFFORD THE SCOUTS EGUNJE. ABEG SPARE THE LOCAL BIYS SOME SLACKS. THEY ARE NOT GOOD IN ROHRS EYES. I KNOW SAKA WILL PLAY FOR NIGERIA. DON’T BOTHER TRAVELLING TO LONDON TO CONVINCE HIM
Well if Saka decides not play for Nigeria heaven will not fall and if he decides to play for Nigeria I don’t think he needs to bribe anybody to get a call up. His precocious talents alone is enough to get him into the SuperEagles that is already heading back to the glory days. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE.
That’s all.