FRANCIS ACHI/St. Petersburg, Russia
As football loving Nigerians continue to nurse the wound of the bitter exit of the Super Eagles from the group stage of the on-going World Cup in Russia, Abdulsamad Badamasi, a football administrator and a seasoned match commissioner has said that the football mundial is an opportunity for knowledge and friendship.
The Katsina State- born youthful football administrator disclosed to PM EXPRESS in St. Petersburg that it was very painful that the Super Eagles could not make it to the second round , but Nigerians that came to cheer the team must have learnt various things about Russia and made many friends , as he reckoned that the World Cup is not just about football , but a season to get new knowledge and make new friends.
” I am not happy just like many Nigerians here, at home and all over the world that the Super Eagles crashed out at the group stage. But I must admit that I have gained new knowledge about football management at this World Cup tournament. A lot of people here have also made new friends and new contacts that will be of help to the growth of football in Nigeria and other ventures they are engaged in when they return home, ” Badamasi said.
” Football will continue to be a unifying factor in Nigeria as you can see that every tribe is united here for one purpose , which is to give support to the national team, ” he added.
Badamasi also appealed to football loving Nigerians to keep on supporting the Super Eagles and the Nigeria Football Federation , NFF in their quest to make the team more formidable in Africa ahead of the African qualifiers which will resume in few months time .
” Nigerians should keep on supporting the team and all the national teams of Nigeria. They should also continue to support the NFF. The football body did well to prepare the team for the World Cup and I am sure that they are equal to the task of ensuring that the team qualifies for the African Nations Cup to be hosted by Cameroon next January,” he said.
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