250-Man Delegation Set For Ethiopia vs Nigeria Clash

A 250-man Nigerian delegation is expected to arrive in Addis Ababa on Saturday, Oct. 12 ahead of the Ethiopia/Nigeria match scheduled for Sunday, October 13.

The reports say that the match is the first leg tie in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Africa Final Elimination Series.

The match, which is between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Ethiopia’s Walya Antelopes is scheduled for the 28,000-capacity Addis Ababa National Stadium, with 4 p.m. Ethiopian time as kick-off time.

However, newsmen learnt on Monday in Addis Ababa that the Nigerian delegation for the match will involve 250 persons, belonging to various groups.

This is contained in a letter, with reference number NFF/GSO/Gen/Vol./003X and signed by Musa Amadu, the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA).

The letter was sent to the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia on October 2, and it said the delegation included 20 players, as well as a team of coaches and backroom staff.

Others to be on the delegation included officials of the National Sports Commission (NSC), members of the National Assembly (NASS), and NFA board members and management staff.


“There will also be Nigerian football stakeholders, NFA staff, journalists and members of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club on the delegation,’’ Amadu said in the letter.

The letter also said an advance team would arrive in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, October 8 to facilitate the arrangement for accommodation and logistics ahead of the match on Sunday.

It said the Nigerian delegation would depart Abuja in the early hours of Saturday, October 12 on a chartered flight and was expected to arrive in Addis Ababa a few hours later.

However, it is not known who will lead the delegation as names of the dignitaries on the trip were not mentioned in the letter.

Meanwhile, report has learnt that the 40-room accommodation earlier booked for the dignitaries at the Addis Ababa Intercontinental Hotel has been cancelled because it is the Ethiopian national team’s permanent camp.

A manager at the hotel, who prefers not to be named, however said the booking was cancelled for a different reason.

“It was because of the large number of guests expected to attend the AU Extraordinary Summit, scheduled for October 11 and October 12,’’ he said.