AFCON: NFF yet to decide on Super Eagles’ trip to Benin
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, has explained the federation has not yet reached a decision for the Super Eagles to travel by boat for their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game against the Benin Republic.
The three-time African champions will take on the Squirrels in Cotonou on March 27 before facing Lesotho three days later in Lagos.
There have been reports that Gernot Rohr’s men will make the trip to Benin by boat and Pinnick has explained that travelling by the sea is just one of the options the federation is considering and dispelled fears regarding boat trip.
read also:Waldrum signs agreement with NFF, to be officially unveiled in Nigeria
“Going to Cotonou by boat I do that all the time when we were going to inspect we did it, there’s nothing wrong in exploring other forms of adventure in Nigeria,” Pinnick told Arise TV.
“There’s nobody in Lagos that has not been to Ilashe or been to Tarkwa Bay, so it’s the same thing, so what’s the big deal.
“Look at the Lagos boat terminal, it’s one of the best in the world that I’ve seen, so why don’t we use all those things if we have them.
“So it’s just a projection, we have not agreed on it. We are looking at going by road to Cotonou which is our next-door neighbour because even if you want to leave Eko Hotel to the Murtala Muhammed Airport it is half the journey of going to Cotonou, so why do you need to fly and go to Cotonou?
“We might either go by road, we are working with the Lagos State Government, from here I have a meeting with the Lagos State Governor.
“All those are things we want to explore and see what is best suited for that and once we say are going by the creeks to Cotonou, of course, we’ll provide every requisite, will provide the enabling environment for them to go in terms of security, in terms of everything.
“But people should look at Nigeria beyond that, there’s no country in this world that doesn’t have black spots but we live and try to live.”
Nigeria lead Group L with eight points and a victory either against the Republic of Benin or Lesotho will seal the Super Eagles place at the Afcon tournament in Cameroon.