The coach of Super Eagles Mr Jose Peseiro Tuesday expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for hosting him and the Super Eagles after their outing at the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Fielding questions from State House correspondents, Peseiro said the recognition was the first in his entire career.
“First of all I like to say thank you to the President. I am 60 years old, this is the first time some president has invited me to his house. Is an honour and a pride to me and I thank the President of the Republic of Nigeria for the invitation to me.
“About the finals, if you ask me, I think we did a fantastic job, our team showed very good spirit and played well. My boys did 100 percent, same for my staff and the NFF (Nigeria Football Federation), and everybody.
“Of course, I would have liked to bring the cup to the Nigerian people, I’m sad about that. But of course I’m happy because I think we did a fantastic job. In the final I think we felt that atmosphere,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Mr Ibrahim Gusau said the NFF and the team were highly elated by the national honours.
“This is a great day for all of us. You can see how the President received the team and we are highly elated to say that we have been honoured with MON, to all our entire team including myself and my general secretary.
“That is a great thing that has happen to this country. That shows that Nigerians are really happy especially the President.
“We thank God for the support given to this team and by the grace of God we will continue to do our best to ensure that we make Nigerians happy through football.
“Ahead of World cup qualifiers, Next qualifier for the world cup in June, we have a FIFA Window that we are trying to organize high quality matches for the team for them to prepare for the match in June.
“We will give the coach all the necessary support needed for us to ensure that our team is fit in the next round of qualifier,” he said.