Nigeria Content Online

The
Nigeria Football Federation has threatened to take the organizers of
the Green Bowl Soccer Tournament to FIFA for failing to notify it of
the tourney’s postponement. The Super Eagles were already in the United
Sates before receiving news of the postponement of the tourney also
known as the 2011 United States’ President’s Holiday Celebration Soccer
Tournament. While describing the fiasco as an embarrassment to the
country, NFF president, Aminu Maigari lambasted the tourney’s main
organizer, US-based Nigerian licensed agent, Pius Oleh and instructed
the NFF secretariat to make a detailed report of the fiasco to
football’s world governing body, FIFA.

“This is untenable.
How can he tell us that there was a ticketing problem after our team
had travelled that long distance to play? How can he tell us that he
did not know there was a problem until our national team arrived in
America?” demanded Maigari.

“This is totally
irresponsible on his part. How come he did not ensure that everything
was perfected before telling our team to start coming?” he further
demanded.

He added: “We are
not going to take this lightly. We will get all the documents that have
to do with the tournament, all the agreements we had with him along the
way and send these to FIFA.”

Late notice

Nigeria’s
delegation, made up of 20 players and nine officials, left Lagos for
the US city of Atlanta last Wednesday night, and arrived at Dallas’
Fort Worth Airport by 10am local time (4pm Nigerian time) on Thursday
under the impression that they would be taking part in the four-nation
tournament. However, the delegation was shocked when Oleh called to
inform them that they were having problems with ticketing outfit,
Ticketmaster, and that the competition would have to be postponed by
two weeks.

As a result, Super
Eagles coach Samson Siasia, who has long been resident in the United
States and whose wife and kids reside there, made efforts to arrange
friendly games for the side albeit to no avail.

To make matters
worse, Oleh, at short notice, also changed the team’s accommodation
plans redirecting the Super Eagles to the Marriott Courtyard instead of
the Double Tree Hotel, and then failing to meet with the team until
Friday. But regarding the tourney’s postponement, Oleh was quoted by
the media head of the NFF, Ademola Olajire as stating that he had
everything tidied up until the problem with Ticketmaster cropped up on
Thursday evening.

According to
Olajire, Oleh expressed regret that the Super Eagles had arrived in the
United States for the event before the unfortunate development but
reiterated that he had gotten the approval of the USSF for the
tournament, adding that the tournament ‘was not a scam’ and that it
would get underway in a fortnight.

But Maigari, who
cancelled his Friday trip to the United States, has disclosed that the
Super Eagles will definitely not be available for the new date.

“Pius Oleh will
first have to account to FIFA on this embarrassment,” said Maigari. “We
have no business with him concerning any new date. He should be ready
to offset all our expenses and also pay compensation. Let him play his
tournament with any team he wants.

“All the same, we apologize to Nigerians and the government for this unfortunate incident,” said Maigari.