Head Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle stirred a lot of controversy with his decision to include Niger Tornadoes midfielder Papa Daniel in the list of 23 players for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers games against Rwanda and Zimbabwe respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Chelle made public the list via an announcement by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after reducing the 39 man provisional list to 23. He made a bold decision to include Papa who plays in the Nigeria Premier Football League. His inclusion has generated a lot of debates.
After a failed stint in Turkey with the youth team of second division side Adanaspor, Papa caught the eyes playing for the B team of the senior national team of Nigeria popularly referred to as CHAN Eagles. He was key to their successful qualification for the tournament.
The major talking point about his inclusion is that he hasn’t played in five weeks in the NPFL, because he is out of the country in search of greener pasture abroad and recently tried out with Czech Republic side Karviná.
He was with their B team who are in the 3rd division and played in the 2-0 win over a regional side Havířov. A game which was reported by the club on the 22nd of February before their decision not to offer him a deal.
Reports say he later tried out with another top division side Slovacko but suffered the same fate, and he has now taken his search to teams in North Africa per several sources, who we spoke with on his inclusion in the team.
While defending the Inclusion of Papa, a backroom staff said it was Chelle’s call after watching him play while he was doing a review of the CHAN Qualifiers game against Ghana , and also at the team’s camp in Ikenne during training and a test game.
According to the source, he fits the manager’s idea of possession based football, something that led to the decision to pick him ahead of Augsburg midfielder Frank Onyeka in the final list of 23 players.
However another source said Papa is being backed by a very powerful member of the NFF, who was key to the appointment of Chelle as coach. We gathered he told Chelle that he will win a lot of enthusiasts over if he includes a player from the NPFL, and suggested Papa despite the fact that he hasn’t played a game in five weeks.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
