Nigeria U15 Coach Hoping To Convince Omidiji To Play For Nigeria, Blasts Dedevbo For Messing Up Sister

Nigeria U15 coach, Danladi Nasidi, is confident he can convince FC Dordrecht sensation Lateef Omidiji Jr to pledge his international future to Nigeria and not United States or Netherlands, but admits he faces a stumbling block after his sister, Sophia, was unceremoniously dropped from the Falconets squad ahead of the Fifa U20 World Cup.

Omidiji, who has been dubbed the new Luis Suarez by top scouts in Europe, has been training with the United States U14s squad at the National Training Center in Carson, California since Sunday, November 13, and is extremely happy with the training facilities.

“I have been making efforts to get Lateef Omidiji Jr to play for Nigeria, and efforts are still on, ” said Danladi Nasidi to allnigeriasoccer.com.

“Whenever the NFF call for camping, I will get him back. Since 2014, we’ve not had an U13 and U15 team, I have been pleading with them to bring this programme back even if it is monthly camping or friendly matches.

“Lateef has a passion for Nigeria, but his sister Sophia has been messed up. I am still begging him that this is his fatherland, I am positive we will get him back.”

Danladi Nasidi thinks that the Nigerian youth teams, Under 17 and U20, have not lived up to expectations in recent matches because the Nigerian Federation chose to ignore their conveyor belt, the U13 and U15 squads.

“The youth programme is the bedrock of any national team. Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi, Lazarus and Akpan started from U13, now they are the strength of the Super Eagles. That is why our U17 and U20 teams are messing up.

“U15 have friendly matches in Dubai at the end of this month until December, but we are not sure of attending, ” Nasidi added.

Meanwhile, Lateef Omidiji’s representative has announced that the whole world is watching how the Nigeria Football Federation handles the 13-year-old’s matter, and other players of Nigerian descent may not accept invitations to the national teams in future.

“There are so many Nigerian kids abroad waiting to see how it goes with Lateef Omidiji Jr, except Barrister Akinwunmi, they, the NFF, did nothing.

“Dembele is being chased by the Ivory Coast because they see the importance of youth. Eagles come from an egg.

“Then they chase Iwobi, Troost-Ekong and Leon after they play for the youth teams for other countries, we cannot have a true U17 team if we continue doing that,” he informed allnigeriasoccer.com.

Omidiji is expected to take part in a maximum of five games during the United States U14 get-together which ends on Sunday.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel