Reading of England midfielder, Ovie Ejaria is said to have committed himself to playing for the Super Eagles, even as feelers indicate that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is dragging feet on formally getting his clearance at Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), megasportsarena.com reports.
Having already played actively for England at youth team level, and he was even part of their 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning squad, Ejaria, who is on loan at Reading from Liverpool of England, appears with a strong future in his country of birth, but he has opted for Nigeria.
Interestingly, the midfielder dazzler, who failed to make his mark last season on loan at Glasgow Rangers of Scotland, was once part of the under-17 national team, Golden Eaglets’ training camp in Abuja, but failed to make the cut for the squad that eventually won UAE 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which many thought would dissuade him from playing for Nigeria at senior level.
However, the reverse appears to be in place, as Eagles’ former media officer, Colin Udoh says Ejaria has already committed his international future to donning the green-and-white jersey of his father’s country, instead of continuing with that of the nation of his birth, even as reports at the start of this week disclosed that his official clearance by FIFA is dragging like a snail.
Having now made 32 appearances for Reading in the second-tier English Championship, where he has three goals to his name, the former Arsenal youth team is getting his career back on track, which could set him up for a recall by England in the coming months, but Udoh insists the lad has already agreed to switch his allegiance from England to Nigeria.
Udoh posted on social media: “Ovie Ejaria has committed to Nigeria, an @NGSuperEagles team source tells me. Paperwork is already with FIFA, and Nigerian passport needs to be renewed. All but settled for the Liverpool man who is on loan at Reading,”
Similarly, as assistant coach in the Eagles earlier told allnigeriasoccer.com: “Ovie Ejaria hasn’t been cleared by FIFA, he has started the process though but not yet through. We have passed all the information to the Nigerian Federation and they will take it up from there. Processing of the paperwork is an administrative issue, not a technical one.”
