Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi said Fernabahce defender Joseph Yobo remains the national team captain regardless of the fact that he’s not been called up to the squad since Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Speaking at a media parley at the team’s Bolton White Apartment camp in Abuja on Wednesday, Keshi said he has a lot of respect for Yobo because of what he has done for the nation.
“It will not be fair to invite Yobo to the national team and ask him to be on the bench, it will be a huge disgrace and I won’t be part of that. When the team needs him he will be recalled and will definitely start as captain even if along the line we substitute him.”
He also did not fail to stress the need for the captain of the team to stay in full fitness, saying: “For the captain of the team, he has to work extra hard to remain so because he is leader of the team and that has been the philosophy of the team since we took over because that was the way we were brought up to captain the national team.”
Keshi thanked the Aminu Maigari-led Nigerian Football Federation for their efforts at handling the affairs of the Super Eagles despite its lean resources.
He called for more support for the NFF so that they can meet their obligations to all national teams; and declared that all the players who have not been invited in the current squad still have an opportunity to be part of the team in the future, provided they are fit.
