Two first –half goals by England –based Alex Iwobi and
Kelechi Iheanacho steered the three –time African champions to a 2-1 win, three
precious points and early leadership of the so-called ‘Group of Death’ in the
World Cup qualifying race.
“We cannot thank the Federal Government, and the Honourable
Minister of Youth and Sports enough for their kind gestures. We also cannot
appreciate our sponsors enough, particularly Supersport. Their good intentions
made everything possible, and made the victory even sweeter.
“The Government and our partners and sponsors are our
strength. There is not much that we can do without them,” NFF President Amaju
Pinnick said on Thursday.
Aware of the challenges at hand, major partner Supersport
paid the charter cost of the 148 –seater ARIK Air plane that conveyed the
delegation to and from Ndola, in addition to paying ticket refunds for the
overseas –based players.
“The gesture from Supersport was heartwarming, but we have
always known the organization to be that responsive and of noble intentions. We
thank our other sponsors as well, because at all times we must praise them for
being there.
“The Honourable Minister was marvelous. He took our case to
the Government and we got good support. We also cannot forget his leadership
role on the trip. He put everyone at ease, played the good Leader of Delegation
and delivered an inspiring message from President Muhammadu Buhari just before
the team left for the Stadium in Ndola.”
Pinnick said the NFF and the team have put behind the
victory in Zambia and already fully focused on next month’s Matchday 2 clash
with the Fennecs of Algeria, who like Nigeria played at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA
World Cup finals.
“We have three points and lead the group, but we do not have
the World Cup ticket yet. We must keep our heads. Picking three points in the
encounter with Algeria next month is paramount.”
“We also want to use this opportunity to appeal to other
corporate organizations to join and assist the NFF with more financial support
to help the Super Eagles land safely at Russia 2018, as Government alone cannot
afford the huge cost of prosecuting these games, with so many other sectors in
need of support.”
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