Audio By Carbonatix
Coach Stephen Keshi has threatened to stop selecting Africa Cup of Nations hero Sunday Mba for the national team duty unless the striker starts playing again in the local league.
Enugu Rangers and Warri Wolves are bitterly embroiled in claims over the rightful owner of the contract of the striker who was the match winner in the Africa Cup Nations final against Burkina Faso.
The Mba saga was one of the touch points at Tuesday’s parley between Keshi and the media when the Super Eagles camp opened ahead of the Brazil 2014 qualifying match against Kenya in Calabar on March 23.
Keshi, who on February 10 guided Nigeria to a third Africa Cup of Nations triumph in South Africa, said that he was worried that Mba was not playing in the local league because of the lack of compromise between Wolves and Rangers.
He warned he might consider dropping Mba from the team if there was no compromise, as his lack of playing time was of no benefit to the player or country.
“I am very worried because he (Mba) is not playing in the league right now due to his contract which is disputed by two clubs. At this point we have to consider Mba’s career because it he is important for the country. While the authority has stepped into the matter, I might decide to drop him if he is not playing given that this situation is not good for us,” Keshi warned.
The Nigerian premier league matches only resumed last week, well behind schedule, following the crisis that was escalated by the sack of the board of the league and the institution of an interim body late last year.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is expected to make a pronouncement on the Mba issue this week after studying the recommendation of a special panel it instituted to broach a settlement between Wolves and Rangers.
After studying the documents submitted by both clubs, the panel is understood to have resolved last week that Mba remains a player on the books of Wolves until the end of the 2013 season.
The panel, however, strongly felt that the wish of Mba to play for Rangers and not Wolves be respected and even said it was willing to grant the player a provisional clearance to play for the Flying Antelopes in the league and the continent if the both clubs failed to reach an amicable settlement.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
GPL 2025/26: Dreams FC stage stunning comeback to hammer Eleven Wonders
30 minutes -
Livestream: The Probe examines Kumasi’s looming water crisis
33 minutes -
MTN Ghana gears up to lead Africa’s AI revolution
34 minutes -
Philanthropist Alhaji FuZak donates Da’wah bus to Ambariya Sunni community
42 minutes -
GUTA calls for suspension of Publican AI system over trade disruptions
45 minutes -
TTAG raises alarm over proposed recruitment of 7,000 teachers, demands national posting roadmap
1 hour -
Civilians feared killed after reports of air strike on Nigerian market
1 hour -
Bishop Simon Kofi Appiah installed as new Jasikan Diocese Bishop
1 hour -
Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade threat raises risks and leaves predicaments unchanged
2 hours -
US Court backs extradition of former MASLOC CEO Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu to Ghana
2 hours -
Seven arrested as NAIMOS dismantles illegal mining camp, seizes firearms at Boin River
2 hours -
Fire erupts at Madina Ritz Junction, destroys multiple wooden structures and containers
2 hours -
Daniel-Kofi Kyereh returns from long-term injury, registers assist for Freiburg U23
2 hours -
Knifeman calling himself ‘Lucifer’ slashes three at NYC’s Grand Central
3 hours -
Brands are built from within to without Â
3 hours