Nigeria’s most capped international, Vincent Enyeama, has quit international football after a meeting with top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in Belgium on Thursday.
Enyeama’s decision did not come as a surprise after a major falling out with Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, on Tuesday night, following the announcement of CSKA Moscow forward as the country’s new captain.
Earlier on Thursday, the 33-year-old Lille goalkeeper, who has been Nigeria’s skipper since Joseph Yobo quit international football last year, vowed “not to walk out on Nigeria.”
Later Thursday, Enyeama posted on Instagram: “I have fought a good fight for more than 13 years. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith and sang the anthem with passion.
“Henceforth, there is laid for me a crown which only God can reward me for my 13 years of national service. God bless Nigeria. From henceforth, I am no more the captain of the Nigerian senior football team, I am no more the goalie of the team, I am out of the team.
“I am no more available for international duties. I want to say thank you to every Nigerian fan and supporter worldwide. It’s been the most trying period of my life but I know that Nigerians are there for me and God is with me. God bless Nigeria.”
In June against Chad, Enyeama won a record-breaking 101 caps to beat a century of appearances compiled by Joseph Yobo last year.
Incidentally, it was from this AFCON qualifier in Kaduna that would lead to his retirement from international football today.
Enyeama had expressed fears over the safety of Kaduna to stage this match at a time the activities of the terrorist organisation Boko Haram were becoming a lot more daring and deadly in the northern part of the country where Kaduna is situated and which has also been hit by the terrorists.
He was subsequently queried and at the height of indiscipline he tore the query right in front of the NFF general secretary who dared to sign such a document.
He was then invited by the NFF disciplinary committee to state his own defence and he failed to turn up, arguing that he did not get the invitation in time.
The bad blood between the NFF and Enyeama degenerated to the pages of the newspapers and as one official said, the NFF opted to deal with the matter in-house.
But inside sources said it was agreed that Enyeama must face the music with recommendations that he be stripped of the captaincy and possibly banned from the national team. The goalkeeper featured at three World Cups and won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.
