Ace Ghanaian sports journalist, Saddick Adams, alias Sports Obama, believes that Nigerian football legend John Mikel Obi missed the plot with his outburst against players of African descent who settle for their respective African countries after being overlooked by their preferred European countries.

Saddick Adams, who is the head of sports at Angel Broadcasting Network – Accra, appreciates the viewpoint of the Chelsea legend but believes that it is a partial way of dealing with a multi-faceted problem.

Sports Obama, in a social media post, outlined reasons for the existence of the phenomenon Mikel Obi is complaining about and also proposed some solutions to the problem.

"I perfectly agree with your sentiment on diaspora players choosing Africa as their second option. I agree players should be proud of their African heritage and represent their fatherlands in their prime.

“But blaming the players and ignoring all other major factors and circumstances will not cure the topic. It is not only the players that are opportunistic. Part and, in fact, a bigger share of the blame goes to the African countries and their Federations.

“A lot of these countries and Federations do not even have basic training facilities in their countries to start with. No deliberate plan for talent development both home and abroad. You cannot talk about patriotism and overlook the duties owed by the state to the potential player.

“A child born to migrant parents and developed in England by the English government and FA will not wake up at age 16 and suddenly feel proud about a country that has never contacted him, a country he has never visited, and a culture he has only read or heard about. A migrant parent whose child is born and developed in Spain with huge potential will not wake up one day and carry their son to Guinea Bissau when Spain comes calling because they feel patriotic.

The biggest blame should be laid at the doorstep of the African countries, not the players,” Obama said.

Mikel Obi criticized Nigerian players born abroad for treating their African roots as a second option when choosing their nationality.

According to Mikel, foreign-born players often delay their chance to represent their native African nation in an attempt to play for the European nations where they were born.

He said the foreign-born players only begin to show interest in representing their African roots when there's no hope of playing for their country of birth.

"I have talked extensively about players not representing their African roots. We meet with these kids and their parents and say, 'Listen, you're from Nigeria, your dad is Nigerian, your mum is Nigerian—why don't you represent your fatherland?' They often respond, 'We want to play for England, France, whatever it is,' and then they wait. When they turn 25 or 29 and don’t receive a call-up from England, they then consider Nigeria," he said on his podcast.

He urged the Nigerian Football Federation and other African countries to stand their ground and refuse to be treated as second options.

"We shouldn’t be treated as a second option. You should be proud of your African roots and your African country. I want the best players to play in Africa, so you should make a decision and stand by it."


EK