By Dayo Awoniyi
Nigeria coach Eric Chelle has expressed his interest in recruiting several top players eligible to represent the West African nation, including Chelsea’s Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu.
Chelle praised the abilities of Ugochukwu and Chukwuemeka, both of whom are currently on loan from Chelsea.
“They are both good players, even though the one at Dortmund has often had to battle injuries,” Chelle remarked, referring to Chukwuemeka’s challenges with fitness.
The coach also highlighted the impressive form of 22-year-old goalkeeper Atubolu, who has made history in the Bundesliga by going 577 minutes without conceding a goal.
Although Atubolu has represented Germany at various youth levels, Chelle is hopeful of convincing him to switch allegiances to Nigeria.
However, Chelle confirmed that he has not yet made contact with the players but is waiting for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to take the lead in reaching out to them.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
