Former Green Eagles player, Adegoke Adelabu says the Super Eagles don’t need the services of foreign-based professionals for tomorrow’s 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier against the Pirates of Seychelles.
The Super Eagles have already booked a ticket to Egypt 2019 AFCON, making tomorrow’s clash against Seychelles at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba a formality.
Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, Adelabu, who played club football with the crowd-pulling IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan in the 1980s, stated that coach Gernot Rohr should have relied solely on home-based players for the match against the Pirates.
“Nigeria has already qualified for the Nations Cup, and I don’t see any reason why the coach should gather professional players for this match against Seychelles. I thought Rohr would use this match to test the ability of our home-based players. Besides, it could have saved the country from unnecessary waste of money because it costs huge amount of money to buy tickets for the overseas-based players to come down to Nigeria.
After the dead rubber qualification game against Seychelles tomorrow, the Super Eagles will take on the Pharaohs of Egypt at the same venue on March 26 in a friendly game.
There were indications yesterday that a mobile scoreboard may be mounted at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba for the match between the Super Eagles and the Pirates of Seychelles, as well as the friendly tie against the Pharaohs of Egypt. The original scoreboard mounted at the stadium collapsed on February 6 due to heavy winds, destroying a section of the stadium.
A member of the Local Organising Committee set up by the chairman of Delta Sports Commission, Tony Okowa, for the two matches told The Guardian yesterday that the government decided to settle for a mobile scoreboard to save the state from international embarrassment.
The Facility sub-committee headed by the Director-General of Delta Sports Commission, Victor Onogagamue is said to be handling the mobile scoreboard.
The source hinted yesterday that the mobile scoreboard would cost the state millions of naira.
The Stephen Keshi Stadium, which was completed by the Ifeanyi Okowa-led government, witnessed a similar incident in August 2018 when a water tank collapsed and crushed three cars parked outside the fence of the stadium during the African Senior Athletics Championships.
