Musa, Mikel, Iheanacho don't deserve CAF award

Former vice-chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Chief Gabriel Chukwuma, had said the Super Eagles trio of John Mikel Obi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa, have no business being nominated for the 2016 CAF Player of the Year Award.

Last week, CAF released a 30-man shortlist of the continent’s best footballers, from where the winner will be selected in January, at a ceremony slated to hold in Abuja.

The three Eagles players made the cut, but Chukwuma insists they don’t merit a place on the list of nominees.

“I’m a Nigerian, a patriotic one for that matter,” he told CompleteSports.

“I would want any of them to win the award just as the likes of Nwankwo Kanu and Victor Ikpeba did in the past.

“But the truth is that none of the three has done enough to merit the award.”

He however expressed his confidence, that Nigeria will qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“I’m very optimistic that Super Eagles will be in Russia,” he continued.

“If Algeria who are Africa’s best ranked team could not beat Cameroon, then they won’t pose any problem here next month for the Super Eagles.

“Eagles will pick the sole ticket well ahead of time.

“Their victory in Ndola, Zambia, has further given me confidence that it is Russia here we come.”