Team Nigeria UK supremo David Doherty has expressed shock over the axing of Tottenham Hotspur winger Nathan Oduwa and Birmingham City Young Player of the Year Viv Solomon-Otabor from Nigeria’s provisional roster for the Olympic Games.
Oduwa debuted for the squad in a high-profile friendly against Brazil in March and took part in the Suwon Invitational Tournament in South Korea, while Solomon-Otabor trained with the Nigeria U23s for the second time in June.
“We are not aware that Oduwa was asked to pay for his own flight ticket to the United States from his own pocket, ” Doherty told allnigeriasoccer.com.
“We were surprised as well that Oduwa and Viv Solomon-Otabor were both not included in the list.
“We cannot say anything until we get to speak to the players involved to know what went wrong. ”
Oduwa was hoping to put himself in the shop window at the Olympic Games but his dream of making his competitive debut for Nigeria is now an illusion.
On the other hand, London-born Solomon-Otabor has a soft spot for Nigeria because his dad played for the great Bendel Insurance and his former mentor Thompson Oliha represented the Super Eagles.
credit: allnigeriasoccer.com