Siasia explains players’ invitation in batches for under-23 team

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(Nigeria) Coach of the National under-23 football team, Samson Siasia, has explained the rationale for inviting prospective players of the team to a screening camp in batches.
Siasia told the News Agency of Nigeria at the end of the first batch screening on Tuesday in Abuja that the technical crew does not have enough time to watch the payers.
He said they (the technical crew) invited the players in batches because they wanted to see as many players as possible within the shortest time available for them to build a team.
``We wanted to see the professional players because they are out of the league now, the league is over. They are here, we saw what we needed to see and picked those ones that we think we can work with, so those ones will stay.
“That is the idea of this session, trying to see players in a short period of time because we don’t have enough time to build up a team. So, we need two or three days to look at them. I have seen them in the last couple of days.
``We have picked the ones we want, those ones will stay and join up with the ones we started with at the first camp.’’
The technical crew held an open screening camp of players from November 10 to November 20.
They, however, started a closed door screening process on Nov. 23 by inviting players from Nigerian leagues, dividing them into three batches to spend three days in camp.
Siasia has to raise a squad that will qualify Nigeria for the Men’s Football Tournament of the 11th All –Africa Games holding in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo in July 2015.
The team will also seek to qualify for the 2015 CAF U-23 Championship taking place in DR Congo which serves as the qualifiers for the Men’s Football Tournament of the 2016 Olympic Games.
The first hurdle is an All –Africa Games qualifying fixture against Gabon, with the first leg away in Libreville towards February ending, and the return leg in Nigeria early March.
The winner of that fixture squares up against the winner of the fixture between Zambia and Madagascar in late March.
The team, also known as the Dream Team, will then take on the winner among Ghana, Liberia and Congo in the qualifying race for the CAF U-23 Championship in July.
Siasia, however, debunked insinuation that three days was not enough for the coach to see each player’s ability for selection to the team.
“It (three days) is more than enough, normally if you see a good player it doesn’t take you more than five or ten minutes to know. But you have got to give them some time maybe some of them came from a very long journey and maybe they are tired.
“So you give them enough time, two or three days to recuperate and they could give you their best when they are a little bit rested. And that is why we gave them three days and we have seen what we wanted to see. The ones that will leave will leave and the ones that will stay will stay.’’
He said that about ten players had been selected from the first batch of players today (Tuesday) for the second batch to resume on Wednesday.
Siasia assured that the technical crew would try their best to present a good team within the shortest period of time available.

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