Guardian NFF sure of Eagles’ victory in Windhoek, denies rift with players SUNDAY, 09 JUNE 2013 19:54 FROM EZEOCHA NZEH, ABUJA SPORT -HOME THE Super Eagles are primed to defeat Namibia when they clash in a Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has assured. The NFF, which at the weekend denied reports that there were rifts between the federation and the Super Eagles’ players and officials over the bonus paid to them for the Brazil 2014 away qualifier victory over the Harambee Stars, said it has done everything possible to ensure victory for Nigeria in the game. There were reports that the players rejected the $5,000 winning bonus paid to them after the win, insisting that the federation must revert to the $10, 000 paid to them as winning bonus since the 2010 World Cup and up to the last Nations Cup. The NFF had at the end of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa announced its decision to review the team’s bonuses in line with the ‘poor’ state of its finance. NFF Secretary General, Musa Amadu, at the weekend told journalists that the Eagles were on course to pick their second consecutive World Cup ticket, adding that reports of a rift was a distraction that would not harm the team He disclosed that the players got the new bonus of $5, 000, which the federation had earlier communicated to them, adding that the NFF still paid the highest bonuses in Africa even with the new reward regime. “We have to de-emphasise some of these things and concentrate on the most important thing, which is qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, as well as to do well at the Confederations Cup. “This is because we still have some strong games, including the Confederations Cup first round matches against Tahiti, Uruguay and Spain. And the team is really focused on qualifying for the World Cup,” he stated. On the Super Eagles slide in the FIFA rankings, the NFF scribe played down the team’s 31st position, saying, “I have always said that we should take these things one step at a time. “Last year around this time we were almost ranked 62nd in the world, this year we have slashed that by half. “I don’t know how the rankings are done because I don’t think we have lost any competitive match under Keshi. The team is consistent and getting better and you could see the way we handled the match against Kenya in Nairobi. “I know for sure that we will keep playing the way we are doing now until we qualify for the 2014 World Cup. I can tell you that the coaching crew is doing a very good job on the players and the NFF is satisfied with what they are doing.”
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 07:13:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015