Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina has opened up on the decision to ditch England and pledge his international future to Nigeria, which he took in May 2017.

Aina, who came through Chelsea's academy at Cobham, was born in London to Nigerian parents and played for the England youth teams from U16 to U20 level.

He took the bold step to represent Nigeria at 20, instead of waiting until after his peak like many others who awaited an England call-up that never came.

Aina explains why he chose Nigeria

The Nigeria Football Federation made efforts to encourage foreign-born players to play for Nigeria, and Aina was one of those whom the NFF successfully convinced.

Aina noted three main reasons behind his decision to play for Nigeria, the top of which was his family connection.

“Family connection, that's my origin, so I'll always say I'm Nigerian as well,” he told Gary Lineker on The Rest is Football Podcast.

He noted that his family wanted him to play for Nigeria, and it coincided with England no longer calling him up for the U21, having played for the U20 team.

“When I found out there was interest, I just jumped at it because playing international football is still a big thing, doesn't matter who it is for. It's a massive thing on the CV and it's Nigeria as well, a massive nation,” he said.

Aina and fellow Super Eagles star Alex Iwobi were childhood friends, and this was also influential in his decision. He added that legends Mikel Obi and Victor Moses were also reference points for him.

The former Chelsea star has featured at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments for Nigeria, but not the FIFA World Cup, and he noted that missing out on Qatar 2022 and AFCON 2021’s performance were some of his most challenging moments with the team.

Nigeria are at risk of missing out on the 2026 World Cup scheduled for the USA, Canada and Mexico. Aina sees it as another challenge, but believes it would be a great memory to qualify.

“It would be amazing to go to the World Cup with Nigeria, create some memories there, create some memories there, hopefully get far in the competition. Fingers crossed,” he concluded.

The Nottingham Forest defender has been one of the best right-backs in the league this season.

As noted by Transfermarkt, he has featured 30 times in the league, starting all games and missing the last three games due to injury.

He has two goals and an assist. Nuno Espirito Santo would hope to have him back soon, having lost two out of three games that he has missed as Forest continue their push for a top-four finish.