NFF Apologises To South Africa

The Nigerian Football Federation has apologised to Safa following their withdrawal from an international friendly against Bafana Bafana scheduled for August 10.

In a letter to Safa, the secretary general of the NFF Musa Amadu says a fixture between South Africa and Nigeria will always be a fitting occasion to cement co-operation and mutually beneficial bilateral relations between the two countries.  He apologised for Nigeria’s withdrawal after having signed the contract with Safa.

“Our technical department, technical team and some of our senior players have expressed their preference to play a match in London, considering that it was close to the start of the European season and such long hours of travel might affect some players’ chances in their respective clubs,” explained Amadu.

Acting Safa CEO Pinky Lehoko says plans are underway to find Nigeria’s replacement for the August international friendly match.

“We are disappointed that we have to restart the process when the agreement was signed and sealed, we have already commenced the process of securing another opponent and we are optimistic that we will get opponents that will help prepare our team adequately for the crucial 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Niger in September,” said Lehoko.

Meanwhile, Safa has yet to give an explanation as to what happened with regards to Burkina Faso whom they initially announced as Bafana Bafana’s opponents on August 10.