Presidency Intervenes as U23 Team Remain Stuck in Atlanta

Presidency Intervenes as U23 Team Remain Stuck in Atlanta

There seems to be no end in sight to the travails of the national U23 team side as news emerged that they were still stranded in Atlanta last night after efforts to pay for a chartered flight fell through.

This forced the intervention of the Presidency, which, dismayed with the sloppy arrangement of Sports Minister Solomon Dalung, had to dispatch a Presidential Jet to airlift the team from Atlanta to Manaus, Brazil.

The U23 team are billed to take on Japan in their opening match of the tournament on Thursday (early Friday Nigerian time) and the 7-hour flight from Atlanta to Manaus is bound to leave the lads with jetlag, in addition to the myriad of problems they’ve already encountered.

“We’re still here in Atlanta, but we’ve been told a Presidential flight is on the way from Lagos to save us from endless waiting here”, a source in the team told Vanguard.

Samson Siasia and the squad were headed to the airport for the proposed chartered flight arranged by the Sports Ministry but were turned down as payment had not been made, much to the consternation of the players.

“Bros, we’re all tired. Every day they tell us to get ready and pack our bags. We’ll end up unpacking the luggage,” a visibly exhausted player cried.

Another player added: “We’ve been told to get ready to fly out in few hours but that’s been the story since last week. Our training has been distorted, and our morale has gone down. This is the worst arrangement I’ve seen since I started playing for the national team.”

It is not yet certain what measures will be taken by the Muhammadu Buhari administration to address this monumental failure by the Sports Ministry, as the country has become the laughing stock of international media, ahead of the Rio Games.

There are reports swirling that the presidential jet may not be needed as the team were at the airport hoping the airline finally gets payment for the chartered flight, but whatever the final resolution, this is already a failed expedition and Nigerians expect a number of heads to roll.