The President of the Nigeria Football Federation believes the Super Eagles Captain Ahmed Musa deserves his call up for the country’s African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho despite being inactive since October 2020. Musa’s inclusion in the squad has been thoroughly questioned by many pundits who argued that the former Leicester City star who has been without a club since he left Saudi side Al Nasr in October shouldn’t have been considered ahead of players who are active. However, Pinnick said Musa brings something tangible to the team and his presence could galvanise the side to success.

He said: “I’m not in the technical team, I’m the president of the federation. If Musa is in the team they have a reason to justify it. “When Musa has problem at Leicester and he was not playing; we were to play a qualifying match, when I saw the list and I didn’t see his name I called the coach, and he said he was not playing, and I said it is your responsilities to find out why is not playing, is he technically deficient or has issues at home, I told the coach if you have a space, invite him. “See what happened in Russia.

Musa has been our best player in the last two World Cup. I’m not trying to justify his calling but he is an exceptional player not only on the field but off it. “He produced leadership that I marveled at every time, may because he is a motivator.”