Liverpool midfielder Ovie Ejaria dumps England for Nigeria
Ejaria has filed the paperwork with FIFA to play for Nigeria.
Liverpool midfielder Ovie Ejaria who has played for England at the youth levels has committed his international future to Nigeria.
Ejaria was born to Nigerian parents in London where he grew up and started his football career.
Although he trained with the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria in 2013, Ejaria went on to play for England at the U20 and U21 levels.
The 22-year-old who joined Liverpool in 2014 was part of the England team that won the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2017.
The midfielder who now plays on loan at Championship side Reading has filed for paperwork with FIFA to complete the process of making himself available for Nigeria.
It was Nigerian sports journalists Colin Udoh who broke the news on Twitter.
“Ovie Ejaria has committed to Nigeria, an @NGSuperEagles team source tells me,” Udoh tweeted.
“Paperwork is already with FIFA, and Nigerian passport needs to be renewed. All but settled for the Liverpool man who is on loan at Reading.”
Since he joined Liverpool, Ejaria has played at Sunderland and Rangers on loan.
Foreign-born players
Ejaria will join a host of players who were born abroad but later committed to play in Nigeria.
The likes of Alex Iwobi (although born in Nigeria), Ola Aina, William Troost-Ekong all played at the youth levels for European countries before they switched allegiance.
Recently, Belgian-born Cyriel Dessers was invited to the Super Eagles of Nigeria after switching his allegiance.
The Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) under Amaju Pinnick have been making efforts to persuade these types of players to switch their allegiances to Nigeria to increase the talent pool for national team managers.
It has, however not been all success stories. Chelsea stars Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori all rejected the appeal to switch their allegiance to Nigeria and have since made their England debuts.
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