Coach Samson Siasia says he dropped three Enyimba players from Nigeria’s U23 team heading for to Senegal for the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations and Olympics qualifiers on disciplinary reason.
Kingsley Sokari, Nzube Anaezemba and Daniel Etor, three key members of the newly crowned league champions were axed from the Dream Team VI Eagles squad for breaking out of camp.
Coach Siasia, according to a statement issued by the NFF, explained that the players were sent packing after leaving the camp to attend their Club’s (Enyimba) last NPFL game of the season against Sunshine Stars in Lagos, even after he (Siasia) had told all the players they should not leave camp. “I feel bad in taking this decision, but discipline must be maintained for us to achieve success in Senegal. All players in camp were told not to leave camp as the team would be travelling this weekend to The Gambia for pre –Championship training, only for these three players to come and ask to be allowed to go play for their club as they wanted to be part of the victory parade. I had no option but to allow them leave and also in the process, leave them out of the team,” Siasia explained.
The Siasia-led Eagles will play Egypt, Algeria and Mali in Group B of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations which starts later this month.
Despite the series of up and downs that has characterised the team’s preparations so far, including averting fatal crash enroute to The Gambia, Siasia has assured that the Dream team VI is poised to pick an Olympic ticket for the country.
By Olisemeka Obeche