Former England and Chelsea Women's forward Eniola Aluko has weighed in on how the Nigerian Football Federation can rekindle the fire in the football culture in the country, Soccernet.ng reports.
The performance of Nigerian national football teams have fallen off over the last decade, with the Super Eagles at the height, after missing out on two consecutive World Cups.
Only the Super Falcons have continued to thrive in the midst of the chaos, although Aluko feels they're not being treated with respect despite being the most successful African football team in the World.
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Eni Aluko calls for infrastructural reforms in Nigerian football
The 39-year-old likened the situation of the Green and Whites of Brazil. La Selecao have won five World Cups, the most of any nation in the world, and have participated in every edition of the tournament.
However, Brazil have not won the tournament since 2002, 24 years ago. Also, the last time they got to the semi-final was in 2014.
Nigeria, since the 1994 AFCON triumph and the Atlanta 1996 Olympics gold glory, have struggled to impress on the global stage again.
Quizzed about how she looks to help Nigerian football return to its rightful place, the former Juventus winger spoke about the impact of infrastructure.
“I work in the investment space now, so I’m very conscious that there are investment opportunities and trade opportunities. For me, from a football perspective, there’s a lot of opportunity to invest in the infrastructure of sport,” the Nigerian-born Lioness said in an interview with Punch.
“We were talking on the radio about the Nigerian league and the talent that is being produced, but that talent needs to be supported by infrastructure, right?
“It needs to be supported by good facilities, good pitches, good management, a pathway, all of these things that allow talent to really rise to the top.
“I think when you look at leagues like Brazil’s, Brazil is on a similar path to Nigeria in economic terms.
“But Brazil have managed to create a league where the best talent leaves but then comes back towards the end of their career. Neymar is there. Thiago Silva is there, and so much.
“So I see similarities in what the Nigerian leagues can become, which will then allow players to really have the opportunity to flourish, get picked for the national team, and both will rise.
“The national team will benefit, the leagues will benefit. The pan-African competitions, the cross-continent competitions will benefit.
“So, through my work with CAF, but also through my investment work, I want to try to help with the facility side, building more pitches, things like that.
“I’m trying to build my network now to see how I can help as much as possible,” Aluko concluded.
Eni Aluko joined the CAF Women's task force last month and is focused on leveraging her experience to bring commercial power, sponsorship, and better facilities to African women's football.
