The former Polish striker has stated reasons why more Nigerian footballers will continue to switch allegiance to other countries
Former Poland international Emmanuel Olisadebe has envisaged that more
Nigeria star footballers will dump the country for other nations.
The bulky striker who had 22 caps for the Polish national team and
got the country’s first goal at the 2002 Fifa World Cup said this trend
will continue if good players are not given the chance to put on the
green and white jersey."It will not stop, especially when you cannot play for your country because you are playing in a country where their league is not among the best,” Olisadebe told Punch.
"It’s based on personal decision and the way the player wants to move on with his life. Because they really want to showcase what they have internationally, players can decide to adopt certain countries and play for them.”
He also faulted officials of the Nigeria football house as a reason for this ugly trend citing politics as a major factor as he was in his playing days not given a national team call-up despite his impressive displays.
"There are many factors involved in a player wanting to play for another country. From my personal experience, I was doing well but I was never called up, even for the Flying Eagles. Since [Poland] appreciated my efforts, I decided to play for them,” he continued.
"Another player may tell you a different story. Maybe it’s a way of securing his future, getting a foreign passport and things like that. For me, I decided to play for Poland because they appreciated me and gave me the opportunity.
"Because Polonia won three cups in 2000, our coach was given the national team job. I contributed a lot to his success and in trying to pay me back, he decided to invite me to the national team and I didn’t reject the offer,” he concluded
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