A sports administrator, Ebere Amaraizu, has lauded Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Coach Salisu Yusuf, on his decision to extend invitations to eight players from Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club-sides.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Coach Salisu invited eight players from the NPFL club-sides to join others, to engage Mexico and Ecuador in international friendlies.
The matches in the two international friendlies had been slated for early next month in Dallas and Harrison, USA.
Amaraizu, who is the Director of National Nationwide League One (NLO) South-East, told NAN on Friday in Enugu that the development was “a positive one”.
He said that the development would go far in encouraging and helping to keep other domestic players alive “to put in the best and remain hopeful for better days to come”.
“The invitation is a clear demonstration of belief of the substance in the NPFL and a step that will help to impact positively on our domestic league.
“True to fact, we have got some talents in our domestic leagues and we have to help them grow and also call them to give account of themselves through serving their father land.
“The international friendlies will help them to build on and navigate to excellence.
“The decision taken is quite commendable and will also serve as a boost to coaches of club-sides where they are drawn from and to domestic football development.
“There is no doubt that such players will gun for excellence to justify their invitation and inclusion,” he said.
Amaraizu advised that efforts should continually be made to have the domestic players, upon their excellence, display like Sunday Mba, Ejike Uzoenyi and others during African and international competitive events.
“This, when done, will help create competitive spirit among domestic players as well as foreign players engaged in continental and international assignments for the country,” he said. (NAN)