NFF yet to reach decision for Super Eagles to travel by boat for Benin Afcon qualifying game – Pinnick
The Nigeria Football Federation’s president, Amaju Pinnick, has confirmed that the federation has not yet decided if the Super Eagles will travel by boat to Benin Republic for their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
The Squirrels will face the three-time African champions in Cotonou on March 27 before meeting Lesotho three days later in Lagos.
According to sources, Gernot Rohr’s men will travel to Benin by boat, but Pinnick clarified that traveling by sea is only one of the options the federation is considering, dispelling concerns about the boat ride.
“Going to Cotonou by boat I do that all the time when we were going to inspect we did it, there’s nothing wrong in exploring other forms of adventure in Nigeria,”
“There’s nobody in Lagos that has not been to Ilashe or been to Tarkwa Bay, so it’s the same thing, so what’s the big deal.
“Look at the Lagos boat terminal, it’s one of the best in the world that I’ve seen, so why don’t we use all those things if we have them.
“So it’s just a projection, we have not agreed on it. We are looking at going by road to Cotonou which is our next-door neighbour because even if you want to leave Eko Hotel to the Murtala Muhammed Airport it is half the journey of going to Cotonou, so why do you need to fly and go to Cotonou?
“We might either go by road, we are working with the Lagos State Government, from here I have a meeting with the Lagos State Governor.
“All those are things we want to explore and see what is best suited for that and once we say are going by the creeks to Cotonou, of course, we’ll provide every requisite, will provide the enabling environment for them to go in terms of security, in terms of everything.
“But people should look at Nigeria beyond that, there’s no country in this world that doesn’t have black spots but we live and try to live.”
Nigeria leads Group L with eight points, and a win over either Benin or Lesotho would guarantee the Super Eagles a spot in the Afcon tournament in Cameroon.
