Francis Ikechukwu
Francis Ikechukwu has said he is looking forward to making Sudan’s Nations Cup squad after he claimed he was unfairly dropped by Nigeria for the recent Olympic qualifying tournament in Morocco.
The Ahly Shandi of Sudan striker further claimed that three other Nigerians, Kelechi Osunwa, Sherif Sule and Isaac Malik, are also being considered by Sudan for the 2012 Nations Cup.
“I am very excited with my progress in Sudan and the chance to represent the country at Nations Cup is good for me because I was dropped from the Nigeria U23 team when it was obvious I should be in the team,” Ikechukwu told MTNFootball.com
“Until merit is used to select players for Nigeria, things will not change. I have always wanted to play for Nigeria but with present situation, I will play for Sudan if I’m picked in the final squad to the Nations Cup.
“That is the highest competition in Africa and other Nigerians like Osunwa, Sherif Sule and Isaac Malik are also being considered.”
Francis enjoyed a rich vein of form with Dream Team V and scored three goals in four matches for the Olympic team in their build-up for a 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament only to miss the final cut for the squad to Morocco.
Sudan are drawn in Group B along with Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Angola.
They open their 2012 Nations Cup campaign against Cote d’Ivoire on January 22, 2012, in Malabo.