Super Eagles camp bubbles with 20 players

The camp of Nigeria’s Super Eagles has come very much alive in Victoria, Mahé Island in Seychelles following the arrival of six more players on Tuesday afternoon, which brought the number of players at the team’s Savoy Hotel Resort and Spa to 20.
By Tuesday morning, there were 12 players in all: Henry Onyekuru, Kenneth Omeruo, Francis Uzoho, Semi Ajayi, Samuel Kalu, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Chidozie Awaziem, Kelechi Nwakali, Bryan Idowu, Simeon Nwankwo and Joel Obi.
In the afternoon, Saudi Arabia -based Ahmed Musa, alongside Turkey –based Ogenyi Onazi, China -based Odion Ighalo, Germany –based Jamilu Collins and the England –based duo of Oghenekaro Etebo and Leon Balogun arrived camp and joined the team for lunch.
Goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa (from Nigeria) and Daniel Akpeyi (from South Africa) were being expected to arrive camp before dinner making a total of 20 players for the all important epic clash.
The development means the technical crew can concentrate on the training sessions ahead of Saturday’s game, without any worries over the forced withdrawals (due to injury) of Alex Iwobi, Olaoluwa Aina and William Ekong.
The Super Eagles look to garner all three points against the Pirates on Saturday to restore their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign back on track following the reverse against South Africa in Uyo on Matchday 1 in June 2017.
AITEO Cup Rookie Round holds today All is now set for the Rookie Round of this year’s national finals of the AITEO Cup competition that will take place on today across the country, according to the NFF’s Head of AITEO Cup, Emmanuel Adesanya.
The Gateway Stadium in Sagamu; Patani Stadium in Gombe; Area 3 Stadium, Abuja; Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina; Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu and; Osogbo Township Stadium are among the venues to host the 10 matches that will determine 10 winners who then proceed to the Round of 64.
Former champions Enugu Rangers, Shooting Stars, Bendel Insurance, Enyimba FC, Akwa United, FC IfeanyiUbah and El-Kanemi Warriors are among the 54 teams standing by for the winners from the Rookie Round.
Niger Tornadoes Feeders of Minna, Topworld FC of Ado-Ekiti, FC IfeanyiUbah Feeders, Kogi United Feeders, Sokoto United, Akure City FC and the fancifully –named Bityong Cornerstone of Kaduna, Altar Knight of Ebonyi, Wasiu Alabelewe of Osun and Crime Busters of Enugu are among the teams that would take part in Wednesday’s Rookie Round.
The planned Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections on September 20 in Katsina will be “nothing” before the law of Nigeria, according to sports minister Solomon Dalung.
“The court said they never existed, so if they go ahead to conduct election, it’s still like they have done nothing,” Dalung declared.
“We must come back and deal with the issue of the court.
“The best way to resolve this issue is, first to engage themselves honestly and ensure that the matter is taken out of the court.” The sports minister insisted that only technical football matters cannot be taken to a civil court, but when a matter infringes on a person’s right such a person is entitled to take it to court.
“The argument where people are saying football issues cannot be taken to court except court of arbitration, those people speaking this have not even read the FIFA statutes,” he argued.
FIFA statutes only limited technical issues to the court, issues like fixing of matches, players, organisation of a match because these can truncate the progress of football.
“But things that has to do with personal right of an individual are within the domain of national laws.
For example we have the United Nations Declaration Consumer Right which accorded every individual to seek redress, you cannot take that right away by any international statutes.
“Section 41 of Nigeria constitution provides that any citizens who feels is aggrieved, suspect that his right has been trampled upon, can approach the high court to seek redress.
“These are rights that no statutes can take away.
“So, when you say FIFA statutes prohibit the issue of taking football matter to conventional court except CAS, you are exhibiting what we called mental hemorrhage that is the highest level of ignorance exhibiting by someone whose parents spent so much money on in sending him to school.
“You have to go and look at the content of those statutes.
The statutes still limit and protect the right of individual to seek redress under municipal law.
“You see in Nigeria we have been made cowards because people will just sit down within the confine of their room write letter and intimidate the Giant of Africa, telling us that FIFA is coming.
“Elsewhere which we have not said, there is no treaty between Nigeria and FIFA, anybody who claims that we have a treaty should produce a copy, but there is an affiliation, an agreement, between FIFA and NFF and not everybody is a member of Nigeria Football Federation.
“It’s just like the Boys Scout, which is also an international organisation and it’s the oldest international organisation in Nigeria, it came in 1911.