December 18, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has given Glasgow Rangers permission to defer the arrival of their Nigerian players for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations next month.
While the Rangers pair of Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun are both guaranteed roster slots for the Cameroon tournament, Calvin Bassey, a third foreign-born Nigerian on Rangers’ books, is making a case for a place with his recent outstanding exploits for the Scottish champions.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles are set to begin camping after Christmas, but the aforementioned players will not report for duty until after the Old Firm derby on January 2, nine days before Nigeria’s first group game against Egypt.
Balogun is in a race against time to be fit for the AFCON and the derby, having been sidelined by injury and missed Rangers’ last seven matches in all competitions.
When asked if the three Nigerian players have been approved to face Celtic at Friday’s pre-match news conference, Giovanni van Bronckhorst said affirmatively: “They will be here with the team one hundred percent.”
If Nigeria makes it to the AFCON final, Aribo, Balogun and Bassey will be unavailable for four Rangers fixtures, including the league match against Hearts on February 5, next year.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
