Izuchukwu Okosi
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President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Melvin Pinnick, Super Eagles interim head coach Austin Eguavoen and his assistant Emmanuel Amuneke as well as Secretary General of the NFF Salisu Mohammed on Tuesday evening visited some Super Eagles players in London ahead of the FIFA World Cup playoff games against the Black Stars of Ghana.
The purpose of the meeting in London is to deliberate on players’ allowances and possible invitations for the fixtures reports Prime Business Africa.
Minister for Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare, was also part of the meeting as he spoke to the players through zoom.
In a tweet late Tuesday evening, The FIFA Council member, Pinnick said the visit was in furtherance to his earlier tweets about the plans of the Federation to ensure that the team qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Pinnick said he is proud of the commitment from players like Ogenekharo Etebo, Kelechi Iheanacho, William Troost Ekong, Emmanuel Dennis and Ademola Lookman.
The NFF Boss stressed that the central message of the visit was clear: that Nigeria must play at the World Cup and that Nigeria is going to the tournament in Qatar to compete and not make up the numbers.
He praised the Sports Minister for his commitment and for joining over 30 members of the team through zoom.
Pinnick wrote on Twitter: “In furtherance to my tweets regarding our plans to ensure we qualify for this year’s @FIFAWorldCup in Qatar, we’ve held a series of meetings in London with our Super Eagles players. It was me, the team secretary, the coach & technical adviser of the team.
“The Ministry of Youth & Sports Development, led by the Honourable Minister, @SundayDareSD also had a zoom meeting with over 30 players of the Super Eagles squad. Aside the chance to introduce the new members of the coaching crew to the team, it was also a chance to have “clear the air” talks.
“I’m so proud of the committment and zeal I’m seeing and getting from the team. From players like Etebo, Kelechi, Troost & new lad, Lookman, the message was & is clear; we will play at the World Cup and give a good account of ourselves.
“We are not going to Qatar to make up the numbers. We are going to give it our best shot. I’d like to, again, thank the Honourable Minister, @SundayDareSD. It might sound like a broken record at this point, but his support is truly massive.
“Your prayers and support are invaluable in this regard. God willing, we will achieve our goals because we will not relent.”
Nigeria will face Ghana in the 2022 World Cup playoffs and Prime Business Africa scooped from a reliable source that over 30 players have been visited or called up on the phone in a bid to ascertain their willingness to honour the callups.
The first leg of the encounter will hold on March 23 at the Cape Coast stadium in Ghana, while the second leg will be played at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on March 27.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
