The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has stated that the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game between the country’s senior team, the Super Eagles and their Chadian counterparts would gulp about N120 million.
It was learnt that each of the 15 foreign-based would be paid $8,000 being the cost of ticket refunds and other logisitics, which drew the angst of the NFF men.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that chieftains of the Glasshouse are worried that the coaches could brazenly invite 15 foreign-based players for a game against a lowly-rated Chad rather than prosecute it using majority of the home-based players and not more than four foreign-based players such as Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa et al who distinguished themsleves in the European league this season.
A top NFF chief said: “We are stuck with the coaches’ selection because it is our first game and we want to approve what they asked for wholesale. But we told them categorically that it amounted to waste of money for NFF to sepnd N120 million for a home game against Chad."
“It would beat hollow to hear what the players who ought to be on vacation now are demanding to play for Nigeria. Indeed, the president was livid over the large number of foreign-based players and told the coaches. In fact, the president was particularly surprised by the fact that the body’s director of technical department didn’t do his job by expunging benchwarmers such as Kenneth Omeruo, Godfrey Oboabona, for instance."