Northern Ireland, Wales give the green light to Chelsea striker to switch to Nigeria; Scottish FA delays

Published: April 29, 2021

Allnigeriasoccer.com understands that the Nigeria Football Federation are seriously working behind the scenes to process Ike Ugbo's change of association from England to Nigeria.

The Nigerian Federation are conducting due diligence before sending the required documents to football's governing body FIFA to approve the change.

Born in Lewisham, London, Ugbo is provisionally cap-tied to his country of birth, England after playing for the Young Lions against Norway in March 2015 in an U17 EURO qualifier.

The Chelsea-owned striker has deep ties to Nigeria through his father and also has a Nigerian passport, paving the way for him to be allowed to switch nationalities.

Ugbo is a British citizen and has to be cleared by the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish FAs before a request for eligibility can be submitted to FIFA's Players' Status Committee.

The Football Association of Wales and Irish Football Association have responded to a letter from the Nigerian Federation stating that Ugbo has been cleared to switch nationalities.

The Scottish Football Association are proving a stumbling block with regard to the striker's change of nationality as they have not yet responded to the Nigeria Football Federation.

Ugbo helped England to win the prestigious Toulon Tournament in 2017, scoring a penalty in the shootout in the final against Ivory Coast.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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