The Nigeria Football Federation has set in motion plans to make the upcoming international friendly between the Super Eagles and Bolivi a memorable one for goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who will be making his 100th appearance for the national team in the encounter billed for the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo.
New Telegraph sources within the NFF stated that the football body, under current boss, Amaju Pinnick, view the Uyo-born goalkeeper as one of the most dedicated players to have
ever donned the green and white of Nigeria and therefore want to honour the 32-year-old when the Super Eagles take on the Bolivians on March 26. Former Super Eagles defender and captain, Joseph Yobo, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, became the first Eagle to hit the 100- game mark when he appeared in Nigeria’s round of 16 defeat to France.
However, the occasion, which happened during the tenure of the former NFF president, Aminu Maigari, understandably came and went without much fanfare in what later turned out to be the Yobo’s last appearance for the national team. The March 26 encounter, unlike the World Cup game against the French, will however be played under less stringent conditions, and match officials for the encounter, including the match commissioner, will be made aware of the NFF’s plans regarding Enyeama.
“Yobo was a very loyal servant but the former board couldn’t do much to make his 100th cap more memorable because it came during the World Cup,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter. “But Enyeama’s will be coming up in a friendly match to be played in Nigeria, and what better place to have what we hope will be a memorable day for him and the team than in his home town,” added the source.
To this end, the NFF has been in contact with the France-based goalie, initimating him of their plans for the encounter, part of which will see the goalkeeper receive a commemorative plaque highlighting all the games he has played for the Super Eagles ever since that sunny May 4, 2002 afternoon in Lagos when he made his national team debut in a 3-0 whitewash of Kenya in a friendly played at the National Stadium.
The NFF is also keen on producing a short video documentary of the former Ibom Stars, Enyimba and Heartland goalkeeper whose career has seen him play for clubs in Israel and France.
And the Lille OSC goalkeeper is delighted with the plans of the NFF. “He is happy about it,” continued our source. “I don’t think he was expecting us to do anything about it but he was really happy about it when we got in touch with him. “He has been one of the faces of the national team for over a decade, and it is only fair that we honour him in any way that we can.”
The match against Bolivia will, other than being Enyeama’s 100th game for Nigeria, be the 21st friendly match of his close to 13-year national team career. He has also been involved in 16 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, 24 AFCON tournament matches, 28 World Cup qualifiers and eight World Cup matches, the first of which came in Nigeria’s goalless draw against England on June 12, 2002 in Osaka, Japan.
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