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NFF apologises to Nigerians but won’t accept blame for Super Eagles failure

THE Nigeria Football Federation has apologised to the federal government and the people of the country for the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

The Super Eagles put up a dull, uninspiring display on Tuesday in Abuja to draw 1-1 with Ghana in the second leg of the World Cup playoffs.

The Black Stars advanced past the Nigerian side on the away goals rule as the first leg in Kumasi ended goalless last Friday.

NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said he regretted that the team failed to qualify despite the support of the government and Nigerians who filled up the 60,000-capacity Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja for Tuesday’s disastrous encounter.

Despite the apology though, Sanusi absolved the NFF of any blame, insisting that the body did everything it should have done.

“There was nothing the team needed that was lacking. The government provided necessary support; the NFF put all logistics in place with the active support of the Sports Ministry and Nigerians turned out en masse to support the team,” Sanusi is quoted in an official NFF press release on Wednesday.

“The truth is that we left nothing to chance. It is sad that things turned out the way they did.

“Sport is about winning and losing. Nobody wants to lose but sometimes it happens that way. We are quite sad that despite playing a draw in Kumasi, the Super Eagles could not win here in Abuja. We apologise unreservedly to the Government and people of Nigeria for this non-qualification.”

The NFF sacked Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr in December and appointed Austin Eguavoen as his interim replacement until the end of the Africa Cup of Nations in January and February.

However, despite claiming they already had a deal in place to appoint Portuguese Jose Peseiro as the permanent head coach, Eguavoen was retained after AFCON and Peseiro was forgotten.

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Naija Times