One of the wonders that engulfed the Super Eagles Abuja training camp was the fact that players had to train in darkness with the aide of Torchlights.
21-players of the Super Eagles Tuesday evening trained in darkness at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
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Npflupdates gathered the players who were supposed to train from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, cut short the time due to poor visibility inside the main bowl.
An according to a media aide to Mr Sunday Akin Dare, the Minister for Youths and Sports, Mr. Kola Daniel, hoodlums were the cause of the lights out.
Mr. Kola told the media that hoodlums Monday vandalized the lights supply capable to the main bowl.
Minister explains light outage at MKO Abiola Stadium:
“We got reports that some hoodlums vandalized the cables supply light into the stadium complex on Monday. That is why darkness envelopes the main bowl forcing the super Eagles to do the last few minutes of their training in the dark,” Mr Kola told Completesports.com
Speaking further, the spokesman, assured that such an embarrassment will not repeat itself again.
“Hopefully, this will not happen again. Because the officers responsible for the stadium facilities are working round the clock to restore electricity to the complex.
“We shall also ensure that the generator powering the main bowl functions all through tomorrow for the AFCON qualifying match. And of course for the Super Eagles training.”
Meanwhile, the disgraceful development threw the players into confusion. And they were sad why they should be subjected to such a shame; stressing that it’s a national disgrace.
One of the angered players disclosed to Completesports.com that such a behaviour, is the height of incompetence. According to him, there should have been an alternative measure in place for such unforseen circumstance.
“It is very sad. I don’t know why the country’s national stadium should be in darkness. What about the generator? I hope it doesn’t happen again. It’s a national embarrassment,” the player who pleaded anonymity said.
If this is true, it only goes to confirm my position that the Sports Ministry and NFF are not competent enough to organize football in Nigeria.
Growing good grass on our football pitches and providing constant electricity, running water and a good environment when the national teams are in session are rudimentary but important services a nation must not play monkey business with. The availability of these amenities provides confidence and a psychological can-do spirit to those we require to go into combat with an opposition on behalf of our country. This feeling is embedded in the subconscious and is important to positioning the sports person’s mind for victory.
If we do not start to do away with those who constitute a spanner in the wheel of our progress in sports and other aspects of our public life, success will continue to pose a challenge to Nigeria. The alternative is to desist from joining international competitive events until we are truly ready.