Confederations Cup 2013: Nigeria still Not Yet in Brasil - VANGUARD

The Nigerian national football team, Super Eagles, have yet to arrive in Brazil, 24 hours to their crucial Group B encounter with Tahiti, in Belo Horizonte at the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup.

Agitation over match bonus payments “grounded” the team in Windhoek after playing a 1-1 draw with hosts, Namibia, in an African qualifier for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, also to be hosted by Brazil.

A PANA Correspondent, covering the eight-team tournament, reports that the late arrival of the Super Eagles may have resulted in the general fan apathy for the tie taking place on Monday.

Only 17,210 tickets for the match had been bought as at Friday night while the venue of the match can hold 62,547 spectators.

According to the organisers, additional 36,134 tickets are still available for the Nigeria match but local football followers appeared skeptical, fearing either a ‘no-show’ or a below par performance, considering the rating of Tahiti and the apparent apathy the Nigerian side is putting up.

 Even, 2,308 of the tickets sold for the Monday game were yet to be collected.

In contrast, all tickets for the Brazil-Japan opening game of Saturday were expectedly bought.

et lag permitting, the Super Eagles may have light training at the Estadio Raimundo Sampaio.

On the other hand, Tahiti which has been intensifying training sessions since arriving Brazil on June 7 will again have another feel of the Estadio Mineirao on Sunday evening (6.30pm Nigerian time) with a two-hour training session.

They will then round off their public activity for the day with a press conference.

Owing to the late coming of Nigeria, no activity has been slated for the Super Eagles who may not have a pre-match conference.