NFF President Pinnick begs Buhari, Nigerians for forgiveness over Eagles performance
Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick has apologized to President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians for the Super Eagles group stage exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The Eagles crashed out of the Mundial at the group stages after going down 2-1 to Argentina in a winner-takes-all game in St Petersburg last Tuesday.
Writing on the Federation’s website, Pinnick issued an apology for the turn of events and reiterated that the Super Eagles will come back stronger for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“We apologize to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari and all Nigerians from far and near, those who came to Russia to support the team and those who watched on television. Our expectation was for a place in the knockout rounds, but that didn’t happen.
“We will go home and prepare harder for the next finals. In truth, ours is a young and vibrant team capable of learning and getting better, and these attributes hold that the future is bright,” he said.
Meanwhile, the World football governing body, FIFA, will pay the Super Eagles of Nigeria and other nations that crashed out from the group stages of the 2018 World Cup tournament £6.1m each.
According to reports, Nigeria would have received £9.1 million if they had progressed to the round of 16 stage. This is because any team eliminated from the round of 16 stage will receive £9.1million.
The World Cup-winning nation is expected to receive £28 million in prize money from FIFA, with 2nd, 3rd and 4th place teams receiving £21million, £18million and £16million respectively.
