Insider opens up on why Barcelona prodigy might not be invited to Nigeria youth teams

Published: June 14, 2021

One of the assistant coaches of Nigeria's U15 national team, Bunmi Blair has explained why Barcelona prodigy David Obinna might not be considered for a call-up to any of Nigeria's youth teams despite being eligible.

The 2009-born center forward erased any doubt about his ability after starring in last month's LaLiga Promises Santander Tournament won by Barcelona, netting three goals on the opening day before scoring a decisive penalty against Atlético Madrid in the quarterfinals.

Blair, Golden Eaglets chief scout at the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup, says Nigeria Football Federation higher-ups have given a directive to the youth team coaches to concentrate on grooming homegrown players rather than inviting foreign-born dual-eligible players to the youth setup.

The NFF's decision could see the Spanish Federation get a head start over their African rivals in the race for the services of Obinna, who speaks Spanish fluently.

Asked if Obinna is a player of interest to the Nigeria youth team coaches, Blair told allnigeriasoccer.com : "I doubt if Obinna is on the radar of the Nigeria U13 coaches though I can't speak for them.

"I know the policies of the Nigeria Football Federation, the Nigeria Football Federation now is focusing more on homegrown talents, which is what they agreed in one of their Executive Committee meetings.

"It is not really a total shutout but they want to concentrate at the youth level on homegrown talents, so it would be nice for the foreign-born players to identify with Nigeria .

"One thing I am sure is this, if they come on their own that they want to play for Nigeria nobody will stop them, but the NFF is trying to avoid a situation where national team coaches will look lazy, they don't want to develop young players at home and rather want to leverage on talents that are already developed by big clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid."

Blair added : "Before they used to invite players who are based abroad for U17s, sometimes for U15s but they said we'll no longer do that, but if those players are of Nigerian descent, carry Nigerian passports, if they come on their own nobody will stop them from fighting for a shirt because they are Nigerians.

"A situation where you see a player because he plays for Barcelona you send an invite to him, the Nigeria Football Federation said they are done with that".

Obinna, who has been likened to Ansu Fati, used to play for Espanyol youth team before he was poached by Barcelona in 2017.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : fcbarcelona.com

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