According to Babatunde Owoseni, the Vice President of the federation, the invited players are expected to start camping this weekend in Kaduna.
The invited players include Sunday Emmanuel, Candy Idoko, Austin Nwokedi, Samuel Omoile, Shehu Lawal, Destiny Da-Silva, Austin Nwokedi and Nonso Madueke.
The Nigeria team would be handled by Bulus Hussein, who was the non-playing captain to the last edition in Tunisia.
Confirming the development in a telephone interview with NEXTSports, Owoseni said the invited players were chosen based on their strengths and experiences.
“We chose them because we believe in them, some of them have represented the country in one or two editions and we believe they can still do well for us,” he said.
Speaking on his invitation to the camp, Shehu Lawal said he appreciated the confidence the federation had in him and can only go out to do his best when duty beckons.”It’s another opportunity to prove our mettle and we would have to work very hard if we want to get promoted from zone three where we are currently”, he said.
Lawal, who was one of the players that represented the country at the Euro/ Africa Zone 3 played last year in Tunisia, believes the country now has its best opportunity of gaining promotion on the Davis Cup ladder.
Owoseni has, however, ruled out any possibilities of the players playing any tune-up matches before their departure for Morocco, stating that the Federation is keen on the early departure of the players to aid quick acclimatisation in the North African country.
New Format Meanwhile, the Davis Cup format for this year has been modified.
Under the new arrangement African teams will now play separately from their European counterpart.
This new development, for Owoseni, would definitely boost the country’s chances in progressing to the next stage in the Davis Cup. “They have now separated the two continents, so the players would be up against their fellow Africans. I think we know ourselves well enough and can be sure of promotion,” he said.
He added that discipline, on the part of the players, will go a long away in influencing the team’s chances.
Nigeria would be up against six other African countries, as it hopes to get one of the promotion spots. Nigeria’s debut at the Davis Cup was in 1974.
