Nigeria and Enyimba International striker, Aide Brown Ideye, has called out the Nigeria Professional Football League to improve their all-round standards if they’re to compete on the continent, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 36-year-old kick-started his football career in the NPFL with Bayelsa United in the 2006/2007 season. In that same year, he joined Ocean Boys and lifted the NPFL title.
Ideye played for Swiss Super League club, Neuchâtel Xamax, before he left to sign for French Ligue 1 side, Sochaux, two years later. He then played for Dynamo Kyiv, West Bromwich Albion, Olympiacos, Tianjin Teda, and Malaga before recently returning home to sign for Enyimba International.
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Since returning to the NPFL, the 2013 AFCON winner has scored two goals in six games for the Elephants, but admits the standard in the league have dropped since the last time he kicked a ball on home soil.
“The system is getting worse, the league is not getting better. I feel like we have a long way to go in the league, and while my time at Enyimba has been wonderful, there are a lot of things in the league that need to improve,” Ideye said in an interview with Robert Hakimi.
Additionally, the former West Bromwich Albion forward revealed the welfare and treatment of the players off the pitch has played a huge role in the general poor performance of NPFL teams in continental football.
“In terms of travelling, it’s bad, in terms of feeding, it’s bad, in terms of the hotel and helping the players to relax, it’s all bad. Nigerians and the clubs are not ready for continental football. I feel we should put our house together before we can go play continental football instead of going there to disgrace ourselves,” the former Tianjin Teda striker concluded.
Enyimba International are currently 9th on the NPFL table, twelve points behind league leaders, Remo Stars.