Head coach of Nigeria’s U-23 team, Samson Siasia, was ready to step down from his role after the 1-0 win over Sweden on Monday morning, but for the intervention of captain, Mikel John Obi.
A top source in the team told AfricanFootball.com: “Siasia wanted to quit his post after the win over Sweden, but the players led by Mikel begged him to rescind his decision.
“The coach complained that he has been badly treated by the authorities, he has not been paid for five months and his team have not received the necessary support to succeed.”
Siasia had openly complained about poor working conditions before the 2016 Olympics and things got out of hand, after the team was abandoned at their training base in Atlanta, USA.
The outspoken coach reportedly snubbed calls from the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung and called the vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, directly to complain about their plight.
The Dream Team VI face Colombia in their last Group B fixture, having qualified for the quarter-finals, thanks to victories over Japan and Sweden.
Where it all started :
The Nigerian men’s soccer team has been training for the Olympics in Atlanta since July 3. Apparently, the Super Eagles will be there a little longer than they hoped.
According to multiple reports, the Nigerians had hoped to fly to Brazil last Friday, but a “logistical mix-up” with the operators of their charter aircraft has left them stranded in Georgia. WGCL in Atlanta reports that they will depart Wednesday, putting them in Brazil with little time to spare before their opener against Japan on Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT in Manaus.
“The Nigerian government (sports ministry) is responsible for booking the tickets for the team to travel, but we heard there is a logistical mix-up with payments,” a source close to the Nigeria Football Federation told BBC Sport. “The money paid by the ministry for the charter flight did not hit (the) airline’s account on Tuesday, so they refused to fly the team to Brazil.”
At issue, according to the BBC’s source, is the time needed for the money to go through different bank accounts and currency conversions. One of the players told the BBC that he and his teammates have been told to prepare for departure “since last week,” but they still haven’t left.
Nigerian soccer has been roiled by financial issues of late. National team coach Sunday Oliseh quit in February, citing a host of problems related to team pay.
Samson Siasia, who replaced Oliseh and will coach Nigeria in the Olympics, then said a few weeks ago that the country’s soccer federation had not paid him for the previous five months.
