Nigeria lost its first two World Cup group stage matches but still came just one goal short of advancing with their draw against South Korea. As one of the more heavily favored African nations, the early elimination was certainly a disappointment. So how is Nigeria handling that disappointment?
From the BBC:
Nigeria’s president has suspended his nation’s football team from international competition for two years after a poor showing at the World Cup.
Special presidential adviser Ima Niboro told reporters the decision by Goodluck Jonathan will “enable Nigeria to reorganize its football.”
He said: “This directive became necessary following Nigeria’s poor performance in the ongoing World Cup.”
Of course. How do you improve an underachieving team? Ban it from competing for two whole years. Spur them on to playing better by not allowing them to play at all. Maybe England should try that.
Now, FIFA probably won’t like this given its distaste for government meddling in the national team, so maybe Nigeria should try suspending FIFA, too. It might work. I mean, how do you say no to a guy named Goodluck Jonathan?
Rotimi Amaechi, head of a special presidential task force on the World Cup campaign, said Nigeria would write to football’s world governing body Fifa to explain its decision.
“We went to the World Cup and found all sorts of problems and we felt we should sit back and look inward,” Amaechi told reporters.
Under Fifa rules, government interference with national teams is strictly forbidden.
“At the time of writing, we have no official information on this matter,” a Fifa statement read.
Leave Your Comments Below