The Chairman Senate Committee on Sports, Sen. Obinna Ogba has urged the Dream Team VI to forget all the challenges they passed through preparatory to the Rio Olympics and ensure they win Honduras.
Ogba gave the advice on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja ahead of Dream Team’s third place match against Honduras at ongoing Olympics.
“I have to join all Nigerians to wish them well; I know they faced a lot of difficulties before they got to Rio.
“But I think that by now, they have overcome those difficulties and should face the match against Honduras squarely.
“We wish them well and also pray for them; we don’t have any other country apart from this, so, we have to give them all the maximum support they require to excel,’’ Ogba said.
The senator assured the players and coaches that President Muhammadu Buhari would be willing to receive and reward them when they succeed.
“When they do well, government will feel proud to thank them for a job well done,’’ he added.
NAN reports that the team faced delay in payment of camp allowance of players and coaching crew.
Minister of Sports Solomon Dalung, NFF President Amaju Pinnick and his General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi had all intervened at different points to calm down the players and coaching crew over the non-payment.
Pinnick had through a statement issued by Ademola Olajire, the NFF Assistant Director of Communications, noted that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy was responsible for the delay.
Nigeria’s Dream Team, which won the event in 1996, had threatened to boycott the quarterfinal game against Denmark before respite eventually came their way and the allowances were paid.
The team went ahead to defeat their Danish counterparts 2-0 in the encounter to set up a semifinal tie against Germany which they eventually lost 0-2.
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