“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.

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.

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.