Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu has renewed his call for Nigeria to build a stronger blend of foreign and home-based players, arguing that carefully selected Nigeria Premier Football League talents could bring greater hunger and adaptability to the national team.
Shorunmu’s comments come after the Super Eagles suffered a 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in their second 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, with Eric Chelle admitting afterwards that the hosts were more aggressive and intense than his team.
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For Shorunmu, who represented Nigeria at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and later worked with the national team as a goalkeeper coach, the Bissau defeat highlighted a familiar challenge for a squad dominated by Europe-based players — adapting to the physical and sometimes difficult conditions encountered in African football.
He believes introducing some of the best performers from the domestic league could provide a different dimension.
“We need a blend of home-based and foreign-based players,” Shorunmu said, stressing that the emphasis must be on quality rather than simply including local players to satisfy a quota.
The former Beşiktaş goalkeeper believes the hunger of players attempting to establish themselves internationally could increase competition for places and help the Super Eagles in demanding African fixtures.
It is an argument Shorunmu has made for years.
As far back as 2019, he called for home-based players to be given a genuine opportunity to compete with their foreign-based counterparts, arguing that stronger competition for shirts could improve the national team.
Even earlier, after watching Nigeria’s locally based players at the 2010 WAFU competition, Shorunmu argued that some had demonstrated enough quality and determination to merit consideration for the senior Super Eagles.
His latest intervention therefore goes beyond the defeat in Bissau.
Shorunmu is not advocating the wholesale replacement of Nigeria’s Europe-based stars. Instead, he wants the selection pool widened so that exceptional NPFL players capable of meeting international standards are rewarded.
Chelle has already shown some willingness to explore that route. Earlier this year, the Super Eagles coach worked with domestic players around the Unity Cup and publicly challenged NPFL talents to understand his tactical demands if they wanted to establish themselves in the senior team.
The 3-0 loss in Bissau, where Guinea-Bissau repeatedly matched and surpassed Nigeria for aggression, has given Shorunmu another reason to push the conversation.
For the former goalkeeper, the answer is not “home-based versus foreign-based.” It is finding the best combination of both — players with the quality to wear the shirt and the hunger to fight for it.
