Abbey George tells NFF not to "beg anyone to play" for the Super Eagles

Super Eagles players and coaching crew praying before training. Photo: Getty 

Former Super Eagles defender Abbey George has advised the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) against begging players with Nigeria descent to come and represent the country.


After failing in their bid to convince Chelsea duo of Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori to dump England for the West African Nation, the Nigeria Football Federation is also facing big task to win the race for Bayern Munich starlet Joshua Zirkzee who has represented the Netherlands in the age-grade level.

"I don't think it's bad idea, because if you look, Victor Moses came and did a good job, now we have Troost-Ekong and Balogun who are doing well. So I think we have players who are happy to come, but I don't think we should beg anyone to play for us," he told Brila.net.

The former Macclesfield Town defender who chose to represent Nigeria over Wales also explained why some of these players are reluctant to play for Nigeria.

"Nigeria is a big nation, we are one of the best in the world, but I can understand why some of the players are hesitant. Some of them are born abroad, they have never been to Nigeria, they know nothing about the culture, so when Nigeria approaches them to come and they petrify.

"Basically, we are taking them out of their comfort zones, but the ones who wanted to come are welcome and the ones who did not, we have to respect their decision," he said.

Abbey George was born in Nigeria to a Welsh mother and a Nigerian father. He was part of Nigeria's bronze-winning 2004 Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON) squad in Tunisia.
Brila.net