The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has stated that preparations are in top gear to ensure that the Super Eagles have a smooth passage to next year’s World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Federation, while expressing its readiness for the CAF/World Cup playoff, however, called on Nigerians to rally round the team as they did during the main qualifiers, urging them to be positive about the Super Eagles as they journey to Morocco for the battle ahead.
Speaking exclusively with Sporting Tribune on Monday in Abuja, NFF Secretary General, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said the football house and the National Sports Commission (NSC) are working in sync to provide a conducive atmosphere for the players to excel at the playoffs by making sure that the country’s flag is hoisted at next year’s World Cup.
“We are actually getting ready. We have started preparations from the day we qualified for the play-offs. Our (NFF) own part, as I’ve always been saying, is that we are not the one to play either are we to train the players to play. It’s the players that play on the pitch and it is the coaches that train them (players) on what to do. Our own is to create an enabling environment for them to do well. And we are working towards that.
“Both the Nigeria Football Federation and the National Sports Commission are working together to ensure that we provide that enabling environment. And having said that, what we expect, of course, is by the grace of God, for us to qualify from Africa and go for the last playoffs that will qualify us, by the grace of God, for the World Cup. And what we expect from Nigerians is to rally round the team, to pray for the team, because prayer is very important and to talk positively about the team and the players.
“Because anytime they (the players) see Nigerians behind them, supporting them and writing good things about them, it motivates them more than money. So that is what we want from Nigerians. On the part of the government, government is committed and is doing everything humanly possible to make sure that they give us that enabling environment that will extend to the team,” Sanusi said.
Also speaking on Nigeria’s preparations for the upcoming AFCON in Morocco, the NFF scribe said Nigeria’s target at the tournament is nothing but the trophy having played in the final of the last competition against the eventual winner and host, the Elephants of Ivory Coast.
“Our prayer is to go a step further in Morocco and win our fourth title. We go to competitions not to complete the numbers but to win. And that is exactly what we’re going to do by the grace of God. We are not going there (Morocco) to compete for second position. We are going there to compete for the trophy. Our aim is the trophy and not second position by the grace of God,” he added.
The Nigeria camp will open on Tuesday, November 10, in Morocco with Nigeria and Gabon and Cameroon and Congo DR slugging it out on November 13 and winners from the two games facing each other for the sole CAF slot for the international playoff to be held next year.
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