W/Cup Qualifier: Eagles Leave For Zambia Saturday

Gernot Rohr’s men will depart the country via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has disclosed.

The NFF further stated that a handful of top government officials and media representatives will join the 23 players and 15 team officials on the chartered flight, which is expected to arrive the southern African nation on Saturday evening.

“We have allocated slots to some stakeholders because it is a chartered flight and a number of seats are available after the players and team officials have taken their seats,” NFF 2nd Vice President Shehu Dikko told theNFF.com.

“The NFF is not paying anybody for being on the trip. We don’t have the money. All the stakeholders on the trip will be there simply to support the team during the game. We have told the persons involved that they will pay for their own board and lodging, and they have accepted to do that.”

“In the near future, we would look at the possibility of commercializing this kind of opportunity. If you give out, say 80 seats, to persons who can pay for them on 145 –seater aircraft, you can raise some good money for the team. It is a practice firmly in place in some climes,” the LMC Chairman added.

The game is expected to kick-off on Sunday at the Levy Nwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia.

Nigeria at the moment enjoys a better head-to-head record over Zambia and the Super Eagles are keen not just to preserve that advantage but also to start their World Cup qualification quest on a good note.

“We are all looking forward to the qualifying matches, starting with Sunday’s game in Zambia. Each and every one of us knows what it means – big battles that we have to win. We are ready for the challenge,” Mikel was quoted as saying in a press statement issued by the NFF.

The Super Eagles have won six of 16 previous matches with Zambia at international level, drawing five and losing five. The Zambians however are yet to beat the Eagles in a competitive match in the past 31 years.

After playing Zambia away on Sunday, the Eagles will host Algeria on November 12 before four more games next year.