President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has insisted he does not have regrets over his comments on stopping Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) players moving to the lowly-rated European Leagues.
Ahead of an international friendly against Mexico, where the Super Eagles featured home-based players, Pinnick revealed the Federation’s plans for the domestic league players.
He revealed that NFF would stop the players from moving to obscure leagues in Europe and Asia.
“We will soon stop issuing ICT to our top league players going to these clubs. Our dream is to see you play for the top clubs in Europe,” Pinnick said in his address to the players.
The comments drew criticism from many quarters. But speaking later on the issue, Pinnick insists he doesn’t regret the comments, saying he’s only looking out for the players.
“I don’t have regret saying what that I said about the home-based players going to obscure leagues and clubs, Pinnick told the media on Tuesday.
Only players like Taiye Taiwo and Ahmed Musa have moved from the NPFL to one of Europe’s major leagues in recent years.