The captain of the senior national team of Sierra Leone Steven Caulker has explained why he switched nationality from England to Sierra Leone depsite playing for the former at senior international level.
Despite playing for England at several youth levels and making the step up to the main team, Caulker last year accepted a call up to represent the Lone stars and was a part of the team for the Africa Cup of Nations which was their first appearance in 25 years.
Explaining his decision, the 30 year old while responding to a question from OwnGoalNigeria.com senior editor Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman said it was a very easy decision owing to his ties with the country of his grand father.
He said he always felt Sierra Leone is a part of his life and when he was contacted to play for the country for the first time last year, he felt it was the right thing to do as he last played for England ten years ago. A timely message players of Nigerian descent who fancy playing for England ahead of Nigeria.
“The transition was actually quite smooth. It just about timing I haven’t been asked to play for Sierra Leone until last year so when the call came in it was phone call originally from the football association. Read through their interest. I was told Sierra Leone were interested in bringing me inside and I have some conversation with John and the FA President”, he explained .
“I felt it was the right step for me. I always felt Sierra Leone is a part of my life , I have been there and built schools. I had a connection to the country from my grand dad so when I was asked to come and play and represent them it felt like the right thing to do.
“I played for England ten years ago so it’s a distant memory for me and coming to Africa to play here is very different as the coach mentioned from Europe to here is completely different football but I enjoy it here because we play with a lot of passion, a lot of spirit inside our camp. I feel like we playing for the right reasons. It was nice to see the joy we brought to the nation during the AFCON was special to me. I hope to build on that connection”, he concluded.
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