Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical director Austin Eguavoen has expressed disappointment with Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle’s inability to select some players in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) for the just-concluded 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Eguavoen made this known in an interview with Footy Africa, where he noted that there are some quality players within the NPFL that could have been named in the final list for the tournament.

He also stated that the NFF won’t influence Chelle’s selection of players for any competition.

“I felt disappointed that we did not include some NPFL players in the AFCON squad. Some players in the team may not even get a minute of action, so why couldn’t we include a few players from the local league? At least three or four would have been better.

“The players are not bad, and just because we didn’t do well at CHAN doesn’t mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. That said, I think this is something we need to look into because it speaks volumes when players come directly from the local league into a major tournament like AFCON.”

“There is an issue. The selection of players for the Super Eagles is the responsibility of the coach. We can only advise him; we cannot force players on him. I must also say that he has a lot of respect for the players and wants to see how he can gradually bring them through. We have discussed this a few times, but the timing has to be right.

“I believe those boys will get their chance if they continue to perform well. It’s not just about advising him—I think he will do it. He has visited some venues, but one thing I would like us to discuss and push for is for him to stay more in Nigeria. If he stays in the country more often, he will have better opportunities to visit venues and watch players. If he doesn’t, it becomes more difficult.”