To succeed in his second stint as coach of the national Under-23 team, Samson Siasia has contacted all the coaches of the various clubs in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) to give him names of the best players in their clubs.
He said: “I have to start early preparation, so that we can pick the best players through elimination by substitution and begin blending of the team before the qualifiers for both the All African Games (AAG) and the Olympic Games billed to commence in February next year.”
According to him, players from the NPFL would form the base of his team for the qualifiers.
He said: “In as much as I have absolute trust in the availability of football talents in the country, I am also mindful of the fact that the AAG and the 2016 Olympics qualifying series are not FIFA-listed tournaments.”
Meanwhile, the former Super Eagles coach maintained that he is not shutting the door on the foreign-based players, as they will be joining the team at a later date.
He said: “The foreign-based players, especially some of them in the Super Eagles camp who are still within the age limit, will still make the team. But that will be at very crucial point or when we must have qualified.
“The problem is that our competition is not under FIFA; so securing their release will be very difficult. But we are sure to get them when we eventually qualify.”
During his first stint with the U-23, Siasia led the team to winning silver at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
