Recall that after many days of postponing the Dream Team VI were headed to the airport in Atlanta United States for their chartered flight but were told that Nigeria had not paid.
READ HERE: Confusion As Dream Team Gets Stuck In Atlanta A Day To Opening Match
However, the intervention of a top official at the Atlanta Airport and Delta Airlines, the stranded team will travel to Brazil on Thursday to make its match against Japan in Manaus.
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Delta did not only arrange a private charter flight for the team from Atlanta to Manaus, but the airline also put the team up in a hotel for the night in Atlanta, CNN reports.
There are expected to land in Brazil on a charter flight at 2 p.m. local time. This gives the team just enough time to clear customs and stretch before kickoff at 9 p.m.
“[The Nigerian Olympic football team] were stranded at the airport and almost not going to make their match against Japan,” said Reese McCranie, director of policy and communications for Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. The airport decided to work with Delta to make sure the team made its match on time, he said.
Samson Siasia and his boys were supposed to fly out on Friday July 29, but series of disappointment from the Nigeria Sports Ministry for their inability to pay for a charter flight kept the team grounded in Atlanta.
Speaking also, a Delta spokesman, Anthony Black said: “This is a special occasion, not only because it’s the Olympics. Exactly 20 years ago, on this day, the Nigerian football team needed a miracle to beat Argentina to win the gold medal in Atlanta at the Olympics. Today, we are happy to help them with another miracle.”
All bills however will be paid back by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
The NFF had earlier posted a video of the historic moment in Atlanta on August 3, 1996, where Nigeria became the first African team to win Gold in an Olympics.
The football body captioned the video: “Our Dream Team won gold in the football event of the Atlanta Olympic games #20YearsAgoInAtlanta.
ON THIS DAY IN 1996: Our Dream Team won gold in the football event of the Atlanta Olympic games #20YearsAgoInAtlantapic.twitter.com/Ew8aZLsc0I
— The NFF (@thenff) August 3, 2016
The team told Delta it chose to train in Atlanta because of that historic win 20 years ago. After their game with Japan, they will also play Colombia and Sweden in their group.
We wish Samson Siasia and his team the best of luck as they touch down in Manaus for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.