10th October, 2013
Nigeria’s delegation to Sunday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup final elimination fixture, first leg encounter between the Super Eagles and Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia will arrive in Addis Ababa on Saturday morning.
General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Barrister Musa Amadu disclosed on Thursday that the Boeing 787 Jetliner, which has been chartered for the trip, will depart the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 1.40 am on Saturday and touch down at the Addis Ababa Airport minutes after 8am, Ethiopian time. Ethiopia is two hours ahead of Nigeria.
The delegation will comprise of 23 players, four coaches, eight backroom staff, members of the NFF Executive Committee, officials of the National Sports Commission, NSC members of the National Assembly, NFF management and some secretariat staff, stakeholders, media representatives and members of the Nigeria Football and Other Sports Supporters Club, all totalling 263 persons.
NFF’s advance party of two persons, in Addis Ababa since Tuesday, has been working assiduously with officials of the Nigeria Embassy in Ethiopia to tidy up all arrangements for the delegation.
On Thursday, the advance party met with officials of the Ethiopian Football Federation, EFF to verify reports that the EFF was determined to stop the Nigerian supporters from going into the stadium with their drums and trumpets on match day. EFF officials denied this.
A member of the advance party said on Thursday: “Addis Ababa is quite busy in readiness for the meeting of African Heads of State and Government, and major hotels are fully booked. But the NFF made arrangements much earlier and all members of the delegation will be catered for.”
Accommodation, transportation, security and match ticket details have been resolved and the NFF expects no hitch as the Eagles confront their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations victims in the Antelopes’ backyard.