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As the world eagerly awaits tomorrow’s grand finale of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa, a grassroots soccer guru has described their qualification as a victory for the home-based players in the squad.

“We have always believed that good players abound in our local league and thank goodness Coach Stephen Keshi justified what we have always clamoured for by looking at this direction against all odds. Though he has always said his team is a developing one. When Keshi left out some of the known professionals from the squad people cried foul but now look at where we are, on our way to victory,” Chief Paul Abuede, erstwhile chairman of the defunct Abuede Football Club and former chairman of Youths Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON), Lagos chapter, told News Express.

He applauded Keshi’s inclusion of six local players in the squad as against people’s call for him to go with only foreign-based pros. Abuede particularly saluted Sunday Mba who gave Nigeria the lead victory over mighty Ivory Coast during their quarter-final encounter and the heroic performance exhibited by the other local players against the Malians, whom the team whitewashed 4-1 in the semi-finals.

Abuede however said that more should be done to expose more local players in the country, noting that Keshi was in the right direction towards building a team for the future.

He noted that coach Keshi has surprised Nigerians haven qualified for the stage of AFCON 2013, a feat nobody expected was going to be possible.

Nigeria will battle Burkina Faso tomorrow in the final of the 2013 AFCON at Soccer City, Johannesburg in a grudge match. Both teams had earlier met in their Group C preliminary encounter which ended in a one-all draw.

•Photo: Sunday Mba in action at the AFCON.

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