Super Eagles Paid Upfront for Cancelled Ghana Friendly due to London Riots

The organisers of the Ghana versus Nigeria match have paid the Super Eagles an unspecified sum in appearance fees upfront before the game billed for Vicarage Road, London, was put off on Tuesday as result of the rioting which hit several cities across England.

The much anticipated 55th derby match between Nigeria and Ghana was sensationally called off on the eve of the match when Hertfordshire Constabulary council declared a force majeure about its inability to secure the match in the wake of the sustained clash in London between the rioters and police.

But news out of Ghana Tuesday night claimed that the organisers of the match, JV2, had paid both Nigeria and Ghana ahead, before the kick off of the friendly, and had admitted suffering huge losses arising from the cancelation.

Though there were reported instances of the absence of key players as result of injuries and hitches with travelling arrangements, players and officials of both Nigeria and Ghana were already on ground before the cancelation.

The friendly match has now been rescheduled for a date in October subject to the approval of the FA of England. The rescheduled match will now hold after the African Cup of Nations qualifying matches involving both Ghana and Nigeria.

The Ghanaians will host Swaziland in Accra in the first week of September, while Nigeria will visit Madagascar in Antananarivo across the Indian Ocean the same week.

According to reports, JV2 chief executive, Justin Addo incurred the losses after he paid the mandatory appearance fees to both sides. He will also find a way of making refund to the fans who had paid for the tickets of the match billed for the ground of Watford football club.

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Nigeria vs Ghana friendly cancelled due to London riots

Super Eagles Head Coach, Samson Siasia, has expressed his disappointment at the cancellation of Tuesday's international friendly match against Ghana Black Stars.

The friendly was due to be hosted at Watford FC's Vicarage Road stadium, but the club was forced to call off the game on the advise of the Hertforshire Constabulary.

Siasia and his players were left to contemplate the effects

"We are very disappointed that the game has been called off.

"We were looking forward to playing this game, and the players were also very prepared and confident despite the fact that we didn't have a full house and we had just one training session.

"I also spoke to the NFF officials and they are also disappointed that this game did not hold.

"But there is nothing anybody can do. The police have the final authority and if they say they cannot guarantee our security, then we have to take it like that."

Organisers are working hard to reschedule the game, with November being looked at as a possible date for the fixture.

However, Siasia is not losing any sleep over midfielder Dickson Etuhu's decision to make himself unavailable for selection.

Etuhu was handed a late call up to join the squad following withdrawals by several players, but declined, saying he did not wish to be considered for selection under Samson Siasia.

Asked about the decision at the pre-match press conference, Siasia did not seem overly concerned.

"We all know we had problems with visas for some players. And he is here in London so we asked him to come and be part of this team.

"He said no. I dont know what issues he has but that will be dealt with later."

Etuhu is said to be unhappy at having been ignored since Siasia took over, but his decision will cause little heartache for Siasia, who has a surfeit of midfielders higher up the pecking order than the Fulham man.

John Mikel Obi and Joel Obi have both locked down the central midfield roles, with Kalu Uche, Fengor Ogude and Nosa Igiebor all pushing hard to dislodge them.

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Obafemi Martin's brother dies of heart complications

Ladi Martins, the older brother of Nigeria international Obafemi Martins, died Monday in Lagos of suspected heart problem. MTNFootball.com learnt that Martins has struggled to eat normally for the past few days and when he finally had a meal Sunday morning, and laterin the evening he began complaining of heart problem.

He gave up the ghost at Doren Hospital in Ajah on the outskirts of Lagos the following day.

Obafemi Martins confirmed the shock passing away of his 27-year-old brother who also played professionally in Europe for some time.

Family member Otunba Kay David Lawson announced that Ladi will be buried at Victoria Garden Cemetery in Ajah, outskirts of Lagos, later Tuesday.

This is yet another personal tragedy for 'Oba-goal', whose mother was killed in a horrific car accident in Lagos a few years ago.

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Electronics giant Samsung sign $1.5m sponsorship deal with Nigerian Football Federation

 

Asian electronics manufacturing giant, Samsung has thrown its weight on Nigerian football with the signing of a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), reports NEXT.

This is not the first time that a technology company is sponsoring Nigerian football. Last month, the NFF signed a ₦2 billion agreement with Nigerian telecommunications company, Globacom.

Speaking about the partnership, Idy Enang, Managing Director of Samsung Nigeria, said his organisation was partnering with the NFF because it believed Nigerian football has the capacity to soar to the highest heights while he also wishes that Nigerians rallied behind the teams no matter the circumstances.

By this recent agreement, Samsung, will now become the ‘Official Electronics of the National Teams’.

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