Former Super Falcons coach, Edwin Edwin Okon, has raised concerns about Nigeria’s over-reliance on foreign-based players, highlighting potential problems arising from the neglect of new and emerging talents within the country.
Okon expressed his views while commenting on the team’s preparations for the upcoming Olympics qualifiers against South Africa.
He emphasized the need to give more opportunities to home-based players, suggesting that they could form a solid foundation upon which foreign-based professionals could complement.
“We would just have to try as much as we can and not rely on the professionals at that level,” Okon stated.
“If there’s a camp already on the ground for the past six months or five months at that level, this one the professional will just stroll in and then goes out, the home base would be there and you pick those that they are supposed to pick.”
He criticized Nigeria’s ‘fire brigade’ camping approach, urging for consistent and prolonged preparations to allow for the discovery and development of local talents.
Okon emphasized the importance of early preparation in identifying potential players who could contribute to the national team’s success.
“At that level, even at that camping, we don’t even get the good number of players that can as well be used,” Okon lamented.
“They will just stroll in and rely on some to come from Australia, to come from Japan, to come from… At the level it gives us concern because we are not consistent at all. So there should be that, early preparation at that level.”
Okon emphasized the abundance of undiscovered talents within Nigeria and called for a more proactive approach in scouting and nurturing players domestically, rather than solely relying on those based abroad.
