LAGOS — Former Nigeria national football team coach Clemens Westerhof has disclosed that players bribed their way into the Super Eagles in the past.
Report by KickOff
According to the Dutchman, corruption was rife among the administrators of Nigerian football and national team selectors, sometimes invited players based on financial considerations.
“We had a situation where we had the wrong people in the wrong places, even in the Nigeria Football Association.
“We had cases where players paid money to the coach and said ‘I want to play for the national team’ and the coach would accept. They bought their way into the national team and it was an unbelievable situation. Very sad. I know these things,” an angry Westerhof said.
Westerhof, however, admitted that the situation has changed for the better under the administration of current Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi, who he praised for inviting players on merit.
The 72-year-old coach further praised the current Super Eagles squad for their recent impressive performances against Liberia and Venezuela.
Westerhof led Nigeria to Nations Cup victory in 1994 and qualified Nigeria for her maiden World Cup appearance in the same year.
