Former Nigerian goalkeeper and Super Eagles legend Vincent Enyeama said he lost interest in watching Nigerian football due to the unfair treatment imposed on him by the Nigeria Football Federation, which led to his retirement from the national team in 2015.
Enyeama, who was recently decorated with an honorary doctorate award from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on November 11, 2023, in a video chat with Hotsports NG, disclosed how he was badly treated in the national team and chose not to watch Nigerian football.
The 41-year-old, regarded as one of the greatest African goalkeepers of all time during his era, announced his retirement from the national team in 2015 after a fall-out with the NFF.
“Sincerely, I’ve not been following Nigerian football right from the day I left,” Enyimba told Hotsports NG.
“With due respect, I was treated like a piece of material, so I put up a block between myself and the national team and only recently started to follow what was happening.
Enyeama made 94 appearances for the Super Eagles, according to stats from Transfermarkt, and won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with the Super Eagles.
The former Lille goal-stopper has a CAF Champions League trophy to his name with Enyimba, further revealing how hurt he was by what happened between him and the NFF.
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“I stopped watching the national team football because I was deeply hurt, but now I’m at ease. I’ve changed the chapters. I can’t say much about the national team and the goalkeeping because I am not watching them,” he added.
Enyeama helped the Super Eagles to a third-place finish in the 2004, 2006, and 2010 AFCON, and captained the team to victory in the 2013 AFCON. He has also participated in two World Cup appearances, the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
