Eagles: England delays Ameobi, Moses

Posted by admin Headlines, Soccer, Sports Friday, May 6th, 2011

The Super Eagles may be denied the services of Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi and Wigan winger Victor Moses following the delay to speed up the paperwork on their clearance to play for Nigeria by the English FA.

The Eagles are expected to engage an African country on May 28 followed by the clash against Argentina on June 1 before heading off to Addis Ababa to tackle Ethiopia in a 2012 Nations Cup qualifier.

Both players have represented England at junior international level, but recently declared their willingness to switch allegiance to their country of birth.

One of five required documents for forwarding their application to FIFA for consideration is a letter from The FA in England, but the Nigeria Football Federation General Secretary Musa Amadu told KickOffNigeria.com that the letter had yet to arrive.

“FIFA requires five documents in order to process the players’ applications. A signed letter from the player stating that he wants to make the switch and acknowledging their understanding that the decision is irrevocable, a copy of their UK passport, a copy of their Nigerian passport, a letter from the English FA outlining the games they played in at junior level, and another letter from them consenting to the switch.

“They have already sent us a letter, signed by Adrian Bevington the Club England Managing Director, outlining the games that Moses represented England in, but nothing yet for Ameobi.

“However, they added a caveat that the letter in no way represents their endorsement for the player to switch nationalities,” Amadu said.

It means Nigeria cannot forward the full application for a switch in nationality for both players until the documentation is complete.

Amadu says the NFF is actively pursuing the matter.

-Punchwp_posts