The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has sought forgiveness from the federal government and Nigerians over the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for this year’s FIFA World Cup finals holding in Qatar.
According to the NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, the federation provided all the necessary support needed for the team to pick the ticket to the World Cup against Ghana at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja who sneaked through on the away-goal rule.
“There was nothing the team needed that was lacking. The Government provided necessary support; the NFF put all logistics in place with the active support of the Sports Ministry and; Nigerians turned out en masse to support the team. The truth is that we left nothing to chance. It is sad that things turned out the way they did.
“Sport is about winning and losing. Nobody wants to lose but sometimes it happens that way. We are quite sad that despite playing a draw in Kumasi, the Super Eagles could not win here in Abuja. We apologise unreservedly to the Government and people of Nigeria for this non-qualification,” he said.
The Super Eagles’ failure to qualify also meant that they miss out on the €12.2m (N5.6bn) largesse they would have received from FIFA.
