Why I chose Nigeria over England – Ola Aina

Ola Aina has admitted he chose to represent Nigeria, because the chance to play for his country of birth was “too appealing”.

Aina, who is currently on-loan at Hull City from Chelsea FC, had represented England at the U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19 and U-20 levels.

The defender was recently invited by coach Gernot Roht, for the 2018 World Cup double-header against Cameroon.


In an interview with Complete Sports, Aina said he does not regret opting to play for Nigeria.

“Nigeria is a great country and the lure of playing for the Super Eagles was too appealing to turn down,” he said.

“Of course, at the time I couldn’t play for England for reasons I didn’t know so when the opportunity came to switch to Nigeria I grabbed it with both hands and though it’s still early days yet but I’m enjoying myself here and I hope to be with the Nigerian team for a long while to come.

“The players have shown me love. Everyone has been especially kind to me since I joined up that it’s hard to believe that I’ve not known them all my life.”

On his aspirations for the team, the player said his main target “for now” is to play at the World Cup with Nigeria.

“That is a target that we are on the verge of achieving, thanks largely to the efforts of the guys who started this journey from match day 1 and we just have to hold on and make it a dream come true,” he said.

“Playing in the World Cup is the peak of any player’s career. After that we can talk about the African Nations Cup and all the other competitions Nigeria qualify for.

“For me, I want to do well and win things both with club and country.”