Confederation of African Football over Friday's disreputable incident
in Lome, which had Gabonese authorities disembark members of the
Golden Eaglets delegation from a Gabon-bound flight.
Having flown from their base in Calabar to Lagos and travelled by road
from Lagos to Cotonou as a result of the cancellation of all
Gabon-bound flights from Lagos, the delegation members were issued
boarding passes on the flight from Cotonou to Libreville, via Lome,
only to be subjected to the harsh treatment after landing in the
Togolese capital.
A team of 18 players and six officials, led by NFF Chief Technical
Officer, Siji Lagunju, an ex -international player, were speechless
when the airline informed them that Gabonese authorities had
instructed that they should leave the aircraft.
The protest letter signed by NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa
Amadu, reads: "On getting to Lome, our delegation Members were
disembarked and their luggage brought out of the aircraft, and told
that they would no longer be flown to Libreville, on the orders of
Gabonese Authorities.
"We strongly protest this harsh, unkind and unfair treatment of
players below the age of 17, who have had to go through this arduous
and tiring journey only to further their career in football. We are
very much aware that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has
stated clearly that football matches should not take place in only
three countries, namely Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, as a result
of the Ebola Virus Disease pandemic.
"Our players have taken serious precautions and even have Ebola -free
Medical Certificates.
"The Nigeria Football Federation is sorely disappointed by this
attitude of Gabonese authorities and we implore CAF to come into this
matter and determine the issue of the qualifying fixture."
No comments:
Post a Comment