Nigeria Shelves Plan For Mauritius Camp

Nigeria have shelved plans to open a training camp in Mauritius ahead of their all important African Nations Cup qualifier against neighbouring Madagascar in September.

Following from the untidy travelling arrangements that marred their trip to Ethiopia in June, the NFF and Coach Samson Siasia had initially planned to camp for a few days in Mauritius before heading off to Antananarivo, but a top Nigeria Football Federation, NFF official disclosed that those plans have been torpedoed by Siasia.

“The coach says he prefers to fly straight to Madagascar and allow the players to train and camp there before the match.”

Officials say this is informed by the short time the squad will have together as the European season will be in full swing.

“The coach does not want to start moving players from place to place in such a short period and will prefer to keep them together in one place and make maximum use of the little time he will have with the squad.”

And to ensure that there will be no surprises, an advance party of two will travel to Madagascar later this week to inspect the facilities available, including training pitches, match day pitch, and hotels and report back to the coach.

The Super Eagles need to win in Antananarivo to keep alive their hopes of not only beating Guinea but also to give themselves the best chance of qualifying as one of two ‘best losers’.