The Guardian (Nigeria)

Eagles fly on Liverpool’s jet to London today

- From Fidelis Ebu, Abuja

PRESIDENT Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick said yesterday that the jet, which took Liverpool to their failed UEFA Champions League final match against Real Madrid in Kiev, would take the Super Eagles to London today for the internatio­nal friendly against the English national team on Saturday.

Players and officials of the team have been scheduled to take off to London soon after the team’s courtesy visit to President Muhammad Buhari at the Presidenti­al Villa. Pinnick said the same Jet will, after Saturday’s friendly with England, take the Eagles to Austria for final preparatio­n for the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia, which kicks off on June 14. Speaking after a seminar on investment for the Eagles in Abuja, Pinnick beaming with smiles, said: “We’re for the FIFA World Cup in Russia. You can see that we’ve done everything we need to do based on our arrangemen­ts. And we’re religiousl­y keeping faith in terms of the preparatio­n.

“I don’t think there is any cause for alarm. So, we’re trying as much as possible to do our best. And everything we are doing is set to motivate the team. Even talking about their future, is to motivate the team so that they can bring in their best. Everything we’re doing is to enhance their performanc­e at the World Cup in Russia. And the seminar we just had, which is the first of its kind in the history of the Super Eagles and Nigerian football, was to motivate the team and to ensure that we care about them now and their future,” Pinnick said. The NFF boss stressed that giving the players the desired comfort would enhance their performanc­e at the Russia World Cup.

“We’re not the ones to kick the ball. We’re merely doing our beat, and all we need to do is to give them A-Z of what they requested - comfort, hospitalit­y, proper funding, and proper preparatio­n. And those are the things we are going to give them,” Pinnick added. He maintained his earlier stance that the Super Eagles would win the FIFA World Cup trophy in Russia and added that his prayer is to realise the dream.

He added, however, “I won’t be disappoint­ed if the expectatio­ns are not met. To me, that’s football. When Mo Salah was going on to the pitch, he was hoping to be the World Footballer of the Year, but something happened and he was taken out after 35 minutes. That’s football. It can go either way. And I always make the players to know that it is eleven players per side, and should not look at Messiah; look at the ball; look at the pitch; look at your team mates. We talk to them and we live like a family”. The Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi in his remark after the seminar, urged the players to consider investing as such venture could see the players riding in Bentleys in time to come.

U.S.-based former Nigerian hammer throw champion, Gabriel Opuana, and London-based Olympics medalist, Olusoji Fasuba have called on President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Ibrahim Gusau to resign following the dwindling fortune of the nation’s athletics.

Nigeria will host the African Senior Athletics Championsh­ip in Asaba, Delta State from August 1 to 5, and Opuana is worried that the AFN is yet to stage a single competitio­n to prepare the athletes for the event.

Opuana is also disturbed that Gusau has not been able to bring ‘his broken AFN house’ together one year after he was elected.

“Most people who spoke highly of him during his election campaign are now disappoint­ed,” Opuana told Theguardia­n from his base in the United States of America yesterday. “Many people criticized the former board led by Solomon ABRAHAM OBOMEYOMA OGBODO Ogba, but we have seen the difference. Nothing is happening under this Gusau’s board to keep athletes and their coaches busy. An athlete will train, looking forward to a competitio­n, only to be told that the competitio­n has been postponed. Athletes and coaches are crying due to the way Gusau has chosen to run the federation. Enough is enough. Mr President, please throw in the towel,” Opuana stated.

On his part, Fasuba, an Olympics medalist said: “Gusau should resign before he takes Nigerian athletics to a point of no return.”

Gusau could not be reached for comments yesterday, but the Technical Director of AFN, Sunday Adeleye, told Theguardia­n that ‘things will take good shape soon.’

It would be recalled that on two occasions this year, the AFN failed to organize the Golden League, a competitio­n used in putting the athletes in shape for the season.

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 ??  ?? Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki with Super Eagles players and officials when he visited the team ahead of their Russia 2018 World Cup trip in Abuja… yesterday.
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki with Super Eagles players and officials when he visited the team ahead of their Russia 2018 World Cup trip in Abuja… yesterday.
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