Why Tammy Abraham, Other Players of Nigerian Descent, Other African Stars Should Represent Their Nations

There has been heated debates over the courting of Nigerian born players like Tammy Abraham, Ademola Lookman, Moses Odubajo and co who be eligible for other countries to play for Nigeria.

Izuchukwu Okosi examines the merits and demerits of this subject.

1. Marketability of Competitions Increase With Players Born Abroad

Imagine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Wilfried Zaha (Cote d' Ivoire), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), William Troost Ekong (Nigeria), Saidio Beharino (Burundi), Ziyech (Morocco) and few other top African stars representing the countries they could have played for rather than their fatherland.

Conversely if the likes of Kylian Mbappe (Cameroon), N'golo Kante (Mali), Paul Pogba (Guinea), Karim Benzema (Algeria), Dele Alli (Nigeria), David Alaba (Nigeria), Ross Barkley (Nigeria) to mention a few are presently playing for the countries in brackets where they originally have their roots instead of their adopted nations, in addition to those mentioned earlier, the Africa Cup of Nations will be one of the most lucrative football competitions globally.

The presence of football superstars of such ilk will generate sponsorship, partnerships and endorsement for the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the FAs and the players.


2. Technical Quality of The Games Will Be Played By World Class Stars

The availability of top African stars representing their countries of origin will improve the standard of football played during the qualification campaign and the AFCON tournament proper.


3. The Realignment of CAF Calendar

Before now, the Africa Cup of Nations are held between January and February much to the frustration of managers and head coaches in European clubs.

Thankfully the Confederation of African Football have moved the AFCON to the month of June/July which means that the players will not be deterred about losing their places to teammates in the summer.


Izuchukwu Okosi