“He loved Nigeria” – Amaju Pinnick on why Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze refused to play for the Super Eagles

Former President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has revealed why Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze refused to play for the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports.

Pinnick served as the President of the NFF between October 2014 and October 2022. In that period, Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2022, although they qualified for the 2018 version of the Mundial under Gernot Rohr.

Under the 55-year-old, Nigeria saw a rise in the switch of foreign-born talents choosing to play for the Super Eagles. Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Ademola Lookman and Calvin Bassey all switched allegiance during Pinnick's tenure.

However, a few like Jamal Musiala, Karim Adeyemi, Tammy Abraham and Eberechi Eze also slipped out of Nigeria's hands.

Why Eberechi Eze refused to play for the Super Eagles – Amaju Pinnick

An 18-year-old Eze, who was at Queens Park Rangers, was seen taking pictures in a Nigerian jersey with other Super Eagles stars at the London training camp in March 2017.

Then-head coach Gernot Rohr invited the one-time FA Cup winner as the team ahead of friendlies against Senegal and Burkina Faso, both of which were later cancelled due to security concerns.

Pinnick revealed that everything was in the works for Eze to become a Super Eagles player officially, but he decided to hold off.

Instead, he chose to wait for England, eventually making his debut for the three Lions in 2023, six years after his interaction with Nigeria.

“Eberechi Eze came, I met the dad, and we had a long discussion, and he agreed to play for Nigeria,” Amaju Pinnick said on the Playzone and Dangolo Way show.

“His sister was his manager at the time, came to my flat, and we already had all the documentation in place.

“However, they told us to hold on, and that was it. Maybe then the elections came, and I left the NFF, and that's probably why he didn't play.

“Possibly, because Eberechi loved Nigeria, I can tell you that. I went through my messages with him at some point.

The former Delta State FA Chairman recalled a similar situation that happened with Ademola Lookman, who had already shunned Nigeria twice, before giving a greenlight in 2022.

“Lookman was very tough. I didn't even know his father was in Nigeria, but I was referred to him, and we played tennis together at the Ikoyi club when we were trying to sign the documentation.

“It was tough, but eventually we got him and so many others,” Amaju Pinnick concluded.

Eberechi Eze has played 16 games for England since making his debut, playing four of those as a starter.