Fikayo Tomori: Nigeria never contacted about switching allegiance

AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori has revealed that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) never reached out to him about the possibility of playing for the Super Eagles, despite being fully eligible through his Nigerian parents.

Tomori — born in Calgary, Canada to Nigerian parents and eligible for three countries — said on the FILTHYFELLAS podcast that he and his representatives received no approach whatsoever from Nigeria at any point in his youth or senior career.

The former Chelsea defender explained that while England and Canada made official contact, Nigeria did not.

“Neither me nor my camp got any contact from Nigeria,” Tomori said. “Only England and Canada ever reached out.”

He admitted that because many of the Nigerian-descended players at Chelsea were close to him, he would have genuinely considered Nigeria if the NFF had made an approach.

Tomori recalled his time at Chelsea’s academy, where he came through alongside players who eventually represented Nigeria.

“Ola Aina was my age group at Chelsea. He was ’96 and I was ’97. I was captain at that time. Then England contacted the academy about me switching over.”

He went on to represent England at youth level, playing alongside Ademola Lookman and Dominic Solanke in a match against Argentina’s U20s, a game featuring Lautaro Martínez, Exequiel Palacios, and Juan Foyth.

Still, he insists it was not a case of rejecting Nigeria.

“People ask if I would have played for Nigeria, and I always say: if they call me, then I’ll make the decision.

”They never called me, so I never had a decision to make.”

Tomori suggested that the NFF may have assumed he was out of reach.

“They probably felt because I was playing for Chelsea and England were already interested that they didn’t stand a chance.”

Tomori first represented Canada at youth level, captaining their U20 side to a 2–1 win over England U20s in 2016.
Later that year, England approached him, and he switched to their U19 setup before progressing through to the senior national team.

Although capped at senior level, he has not been a regular fixture for the Three Lions.

Samuel Ahmadu

Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey 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.

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