… As Dream Team’s Poor Performance Worries NFF

The Nigeria Football Federation, has expressed disappointment and utter dimay at the performance of the Under-23 National Team, otherwise known as Dream Team V, at the on-going CAF U-23 Championship in Morocco.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, (NFF) General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu said there was nothing the technical crew of the team asked for that the NFF did not provide.

He said: “We are shocked at the team’s poor outing in the first two matches. Yes, it is true that if the results of the last two matches go our way, we will still qualify for the semi finals and be able to fight for one of the three automatic places at the Men’s Football Tournament of the London 2012 Olympics. But we are dismayed by the team’s performance in the first two matches and we cannot hide it”, stated the association General Secretary.

Amadu also outlined the support the NFA gave the Dream Team V before the tournament: “To start with, the team never lacked anything all through the qualifying matches, against Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania. We remain grateful to the Edo State Government for all the support we were able to secure from it.

“After this, the team had several phases of camping and training programmes, including a three-week stay in Ibadan, Oyo State. The NFF sent the Head Coach, Eguavoen and chairman of the Technical Committee, Barrister Chris Green to Europe to request for the release of foreign-based players, sought and paid for a training camp in Ghana where the team spent 10 days and played a number of friendly matches, and ensured the team travelled early to Morocco to acclimatize to the weather and also fine-tune final preparations.

“The NFA also took the Head Coach of Super Eagles, Mr. Stephen Keshi to Morocco to be with the team in advisory capacity and also to provide advice and suggestions here and there, as well as for the players to put in extra effort knowing they stood a chance of being called into the senior team.

“The NFA President promised the team a special package before the first match, and we promised them 200 per cent win-bonus for the second match. What else do you do for motivation?”

The NFA scribe equally lamented the absence of several key players who led the charge during the qualifying matches against Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.

“There is no doubt that the presence of players like Ahmed Musa, Rabiu Ibrahim, Haruna Lukman, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Nosa Igiebor, Odion Ighalo and Ekigho Ehiosun would have made a difference. We also tried to get Joel Obi and Uche Nwofor but their clubs blocked them,” said Amadu.

He went further: “Nonetheless, we made it clear to the team that was available before the beginning of the tournament that the Government and people of Nigeria were fully behind them and were expecting them to bring an Olympics ticket back to Nigeria. You expect a team that has been provided so much financial, moral and technical support to lift their game and play with their hearts. But the reverse is the case. It is a shame the way the team has played.

“There is nothing the Head Coach, Mr. Augustine Eguavoen requested for that the NFA did not provide. There was a time he reported the NFA to higher authorities simply because we wanted him to play a friendly match in Nigeria against a strong team so that Nigerians could assess the team before the tournament in Morocco.”