Omeruo vs Troost-Ekong vs Musa: Finidi George clarifies confusion on Super Eagles captain

Finidi George has reacted to rumours of him stripping William Troost-Ekong, who was Super Eagles captain at AFCON 2023, of the armband.

Super Eagles boss Finidi George has reacted to the ongoing reports surrounding the captaincy of the Nigerian national team with William Troost-Ekong, Kenneth Omeruo, and Ahmed Musa.

Speaking to the media in Lagos, Finidi addressed the rumours that he has stripped Troost-Ekong, who was the stand-in captain at the recent AFCON, and main skipper Musa of the armband.

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Finidi George on Super Eagles armband

In a media parley in Lagos, the 53-year-old looked relaxed as he noted that he has not stripped anyone as Ekong remains the skipper.

"To be frank, I don't follow social media. We are in the social media era where everything is online, but you don't see me online. There's been a lot of rumours of the captaincy of the Super Eagles," Finidi stated.

The former Nigeria international explained that he cannot simply change the captaincy, as there are certain factors to consider.

"There are things I cannot change. I played this game and was also the vice-captain, I was not the youngest. If we want(ed) to go by oldest players, I think (Sunday) Oliseh wouldn't have been the captain. That's the truth because this Super Eagles, I started in 1989 while I was playing, he came 1993. So, if you go by that, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to be captain."

Finidi went on to reveal that he is looking at the present squad and will consider those who are older and capable of wearing the armband but the players will decide their leader.

"Looking at the present squad, we have to see those that are older, capable. We are not stripping captaincy from Ekong because the reports say 'Finidi wants to strip Ekong'. I cannot do that, Ekong is our captain, Omeruo is also captain, Musa is captain, he's not around, Ekong not around,” he added. 

“But we would look at those around in the squad and see who is oldest to wear the armband, and it must be an agreement between the players, not me as the coach to decide."

This statement from Finidi George should put an end to the ongoing speculation surrounding the Super Eagles' captaincy as the team prepares to welcome South Africa for an all-important FIFA World Cup qualifier.

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