The Royal Union Saint Gilloise star has shut down all the rumours about his having turned down the NFF call up in March and that he is looking forward to being in the squad in future
Rising Nigerian star Victor Boniface has told Soccernet.ng that he is looking forward to being a part of the Super Eagles, and he would even walk to the camp if called up by coach Jose Peseiro.
There were unfounded rumours in March that he turned down a call up to the national team after being asked to pay his ticket to the last camp in Abuja, a report by local newspaper The Punch. The NFF denied the report afterwards, but the newspaper never retracted the report.
By way of clarification, Victor Boniface was not invited for the Super Eagles' AFCON Qualifiers against Guinea Bissau. He was on the provisional list but didn't make the final list, and therefore was not sent a flight ticket.
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) March 30, 2023
The 22-year-old has never featured for the Nigerian national teams. He was unlucky to be injured in camp when the Flying Eagles prepared for the U20 World Cup in Poland in 2019.
His current form saw him get included in the long list for last month's 2024 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea Bissau, but he didn’t make the final call ups.
He scored his sixth goal in the Europa League quarter final against Bayer Leverkusen last week and is now a priority for Peseiro, who visited Belgium to watch Boniface as well as Gift Orban over the weekend.
At the Stade Joseph Marien yesterday for the Jupiler Pro League match between Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and RFC Seraing pic.twitter.com/l6TW7cPuIK
— Jose Peseiro (@JosePeseiro) April 17, 2023
“Who will get an invite to play for Nigeria and refuse? I never got an invite. The NFF cleared it already,” Boniface told Soccernet.ng.
“I don’t know where (Punch) got that rumour from, nobody asked me. There was nothing like that. It's not true.
“I can even walk to Nigeria to play,” he declared about when the invitation finally comes. “It is everybody's dream to play for the country, so why would I have that kind of opportunity and say I will not fly?
“I don’t know where they got that news, nothing there is true.”
‘I never rejected the national team call up, I would walk to the Super Eagles camp if invited’ – Victor Boniface told me in our conversation last week.
Full interview here: https://t.co/1mGPn7xjyx#unionsaintgilloise #EuropaLeague pic.twitter.com/zGAkDUZ206
— Lolade Adewuyi (@Jololade) April 17, 2023
Boniface and his Union Saint Gilloise teammates welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Belgium for the return leg of their quarter final encounter on Thursday. His sublime goal put his team ahead in the first leg that ended 1-1.
Nigerians will be watching to see his heralded qualities in that game.
