Former Super Eagles defender Juwon Oshaniwa has expressed concern over what he described as the declining standard of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), saying the current state of the domestic competition has limited opportunities for home-based players to break into the national team.
The 35-year-old full-back rose through the Nigerian league system before earning a place in the home-based national squad and eventually making his senior debut for Nigeria in 2012. As a locally based player at the time, Oshaniwa also featured in the squad that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
Speaking in an interview with Eagles Tracker, the former FC Ashdod defender said the domestic league once provided a clear pathway for talented players to reach the national team.
He cited former international stars Sunday Mba and Godfrey Oboabona as examples of players who emerged from the NPFL to become key members of the Super Eagles during that period.
According to Oshaniwa, the current decline in the quality and structure of the league has made it more difficult for home-based players to earn invitations to the national team.
“The level of the league right now needs a lot of intervention,” he said. “There are still many things that must be done to improve the league. If NPFL players rarely get invited to the Super Eagles, then we must ask what the future is for them.”
His comments come amid growing debate over the absence of domestic league players in recent national team selections under Eric Chelle, who recently took charge of the Super Eagles.
While some critics have questioned the coach’s reluctance to call up NPFL players, Oshaniwa argued that the problem lies largely with the current structure and standard of the domestic competition.
“When the league improves, more players from home will naturally earn opportunities,” he said. “We need serious intervention to raise the standard of the local league.”
The former defender added that Nigeria continues to produce talented footballers but warned that without a well-structured domestic system, many of those talents may struggle to develop.
“Nigeria has talent everywhere, but we must build a system that allows those talents to grow,” Oshaniwa said.
There are expectations that Chelle could experiment with new players when the Super Eagles reconvene during the upcoming international break.
