Eagles Have No Reason To Fail In S’Africa – Minister

Ibrahim Bio, Sports Minister/Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), says the Super Eagles have no cause not to do well at the 2010 World Cup finals.

   Bio who said this at the weekend  in Abuja at the Sendforth Dinner tagged “Super Eagles Celebration Night’’, said everything had been done to ensure the team’s success at the competition in South Africa.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup mundial is scheduled for June 11 to July 11, with the Eagles in Group B alongside Argentina, South Korea and Greece.

“The essence of this dinner is to encourage you (the Eagles) and assure you of the support and goodwill of all Nigerians, and this is why you should not leave any stone unturned in order to achieve success in South Africa.

“We have received all the money meant for the team from the Federal Government, and we have no financial constraints; we have also changed that controversial hotel in South Africa.

“All this should therefore be a tonic for the team to do us proud there,’’ Bio said.

He said it was necessary for the team and Nigeria to do well in South Africa owing to the failure to qualify for the 2006 finals held in Germany after its rise since 1994.

“We made tremendous progress since our first qualification in 1994. Now, it is very important we keep our place up there among the elite after the 2006 failure. This should be a new dawn,’’ the minister said.

The dinner had in attendance 24 of the 30 players billed for the team’s final phase of World Cup preparations in London, alongside the technical crew led by Lars Lagerback.

The dinner was also attended by President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President David Mark, FCT Minister Bala Mohammed and Sen. Saminu Turaki, the Chairman of the Senate’s Sports Committee.

Also in attendance were some members of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the team’s qualification for the World Cup, including ex-internationals Austin Okocha, Segun Odegbami and John Fashanu.

The Eagles departed Abuja on Saturday for England where they would hold a nine-day training camp as the final phase of their build-up to the World Cup.