Treat your local league well - Ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper on why CHAN team failed

Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Greg Etafia has attributed Nigeria’s disappointing performance at the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) to the falling standard of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).

The CHAN a biennial tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players active in their home countries, has once again exposed the gap in Nigeria’s domestic football.

The CHAN Eagles crashed out after back-to-back defeats in Group D, losing 1-0 to Senegal and 4-0 to Sudan, failing to score in either game.

Etafia, who played for Nigeria at multiple international levels, says such failures will persist unless the NPFL becomes more competitive.

“You need to treat your local league very well because that’s where you get a lot of talents who eventually move to Europe, North Africa, or the Southern region,” he said.

He pointed to the poor record of Nigerian clubs in recent CAF competitions, with most failing to progress beyond the preliminary rounds, as a major factor hampering player development.

“When clubs consistently compete in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, the local league becomes stronger as more teams aspire to reach that level. In the past five or six years, Nigeria has hardly made it to the group stages, that is the worst part,” Etafia lamented.

The Super Eagles B sit bottom of the group with zero points ahead of their final clash against Congo on August 19.