English FA invites teenage midfielder Ashanti Akpan to U19 camp in bid to fend off Nigeria

ENGLISH Football associations officials have stepped up attempts to woo Nigeria-eligible midfielder Ashanti Akpan in a desperate bid to prevent her from committing her international future to the Super Falcons.

Akpan, 17, was born in Warsaw to a Nigerian father and Polish mother and thus qualifies to represent the national teams of Nigeria, Poland and England. She grew up in the UK and as such England U19 head coach Amy Merricks has selected her for this month's Uefa European Women's Under-19 Championship qualifiers.

If she accepts the offer and reports to camp, Akpan could become provisionally cap-tied to England if she features in any of the games against Greece, Wales or the Czech Republic in the first round of qualifying for next summer’s tournament in Lithuania. Akpan made her senior debut for Chelsea in a  Women's FA Cup quarterfinal tie against Reading at the Madejski Stadium in March 2023 and was a non-playing substitute in a Champions League match against Real Madrid in November 2022.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials have done well when it comes to recruiting dual national players and an analysis of the Super Falcons' 2023 Women's World Cup roster proves it but securing the services of Akpan has proven difficult. Of the 23 players named in the Super Falcons World Cup squad, six - Ashleigh Plumptre, Ifeoma Onumonu, Toni Payne, Jennifer Echegini, Michelle Alozie and Yewande Balogun - could have played for countries other than Nigeria.

Former Liverpool winger Rinsola Babajide recently switched her nationality from England and Nigeria and could make her competitive debut for the African powerhouse this week in a 2024 Women Olympic Football Tournament qualification fixture against Ethiopia. However, the NFF has not secured such an agreement with Akpan.