Rivers United will recruit top-quality players from outside Nigeria as part of plans to make a significant impact in the CAF Champions League, the club’s chairman, Barrister Chris Green, has exclusively revealed to Completesports.com.
The Pride of Rivers secured qualification for the 2026/27 CAF Champions League after finishing second in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), narrowly missing out on the title to champions Enugu Rangers on the final day of the season.
Green Reveals Plans For Rivers United
According to Barrister Green, the mass exodus of quality and experienced players from Nigerian clubs has had a detrimental effect on the performance of both club sides in continental competitions and the national teams.
He stressed that urgent and decisive measures must be taken if Nigeria is to reclaim its position as a dominant force in African football.
“The only way we can make our presence felt in the continent is to comb for quality players from the continent since we cannot stop our players from going to Europe and Asian countries for greener pastures. We must scout for top quality players from our neighbouring countries,” Green told Completesports.com.
Read Also:NPFL: Rivers United Strengthen Squad With Kun Khalifat Trio Ahead 2026/27 Campaign
“To be frank with you, our league lack the quality to dominate Africa again. With the alarming rate our players are leaving for better deals abroad, we are not going to make impact in the inter clubs competitions except we device a way to check the exodus and retain our best players
“For Rivers United to challenge for the CAF champions league title, we need to recruit at the minimum, 10 foreign nationals from Africa to boost what we presently have. We are hoping to go all the way and to do that we must look for players outside the country,” Green who is also the Chairman of Rivers State Football Association stated.
Mission To Conquer Africa
He continued, ” I will make a strong recommendation to the Rivers State Government, the owners of Rivers United to empower us to scout and contract players outside the country to make the club more formidable to make an impact in the continent. If we get the approval of government, Rivers United will be a force both in the domestic, and international level.
“We hope to give young and enterprising players from our feeder team, the opportunity to vie for place in the team for next season. We have talents but the problem is how to keep them together to blend and bond for a few years to conquer Africa.
“Rivers United will undergo massive reorganisation for next season. Many players who underperformed will have to give way for younger and better quality players. We are waiting for the technical report from the coaches and we will work with their recommendations. The era of just being in the continent for the sake of it is in the past. We have to challenge” Green declared.
By Richard Jideaka , Abuja
