“Wish you were playing for England” – Super Eagles star draws praise from fans for inspiring off-pitch performance

With the regular football season on a break, players – including one of Nigeria's most outstanding youngsters – are devoting more time to humanitarian causes

Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has received praises and inspiring messages from fans after the Nigeria international spent some quality time with school children in the United Kingdom.

Bassey was a guest of the Bishop Challoner Schools, a Catholic federation of schools in Tower Hamlets, London.

And the Schools took to their Twitter account to appreciate the versatile Glasgow Rangers full-back for inspiring and motivating the young educators.

“A huge thank you to RangersFC and Nigeria national team player Calvin Bassey for speaking to our young men in assemblies this morning. Your words about dedication, patience, and sacrifice really inspired and resonated with them. It was a pleasure to welcome you to our school,” wrote Challoner FCS.

A huge thank you to @RangersFC and Nigeria national team player @CalvinBassey for speaking to our young men in assemblies this morning. Your words about dedication, patience and sacrifice really inspired and resonated with them. It was a pleasure to welcome you to our school! pic.twitter.com/RE4djnSM9t

— Bishop Challoner Catholic School (@ChallonerCS) June 15, 2022

Having watched Bassey consistently deliver excellent performances for Rangers during the campaign, fans were sweetly pleased to see the Leicester City academy product do some impressive work off the pitch as well.

Words like ‘absolutely brilliant', ‘top man', and ‘very humble' were freely used to describe the 22-year-old defender.

Below are a few of the fans' reactions, including from one Robbie Moore, who wished the Italy-born lad represented the Three Lions.

So wish you were playing for England

— Robbie Moore (@RobbieMoore20) June 15, 2022

Well done. An excellent and inspirational example. Proud to have you as a player at our club.

— Edward Thomas Adair (@EdwardThomasAd2) June 15, 2022

https://twitter.com/Getback617/status/1537029684239679488

https://twitter.com/DawnxCarmichael/status/1537030319433474051

https://twitter.com/Rangers_9293/status/1537038393741570049

Top man. On and off the pitch. Exactly what our players should be doing at this time of year.

— Gordon Barnes (@GordonBarnes65) June 16, 2022

https://twitter.com/AnarjJim/status/1537031185653714946

https://twitter.com/RangersYvr/status/1537120397354618880

Born in Aosta, Italy, to Nigerian parents but raised in England, Bassey could have played for any of the three countries.

But the talented youngster decided to represent the Super Eagles and has earned five caps with the three-time African champions.

Bassey has started all four of Nigeria's last matches, including the record 10-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe on Monday.