Mr. Amaju Pinnick, the Vice President of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Organising Committee, said if the Nigerian team continues with its level of doggedness and resilience, they might bring home the trophy.
Pinnick stated this in an interview with Arise Television on Monday.
He said, “I am Nigerian and so interested in the Super Eagles and so far, they have displayed what they crafted or curated to display in this tournament and we are very happy with their performance and with the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation because there is a beautiful synergy between myself;
“…the president and the minister to ensure that we talk to the technical crew and ensure that we get to the level where we get to that level that everyone will appreciate.
“The players have decided to be nationalistic; they have decided to play for Nigeria and to be resilient, dogged and fighters. That they have displayed on the pitch. So, if they continue the way they played the last game against Cameroon, I believe we will be smiling with the trophy and I am happy they are taking it one game at a time.”
While commending the efforts of the Super Eagles in the ongoing tournament, he also commended the AFCON committee for ensuring the comfort of the players in Cote d’Ivoire, even though.
He said, “When the new leadership of CAF took over, we decided that we wanted to first abide by what’s called total club licensing requirement, that is the condition to host tournaments which we have decided to take to the highest level, one, in terms of the pitch, you can see the pitches are very lovely and well maintained, before, during and after the games.
“Then of course, in Africa, we still grapple with accommodation but in Cote d’Ivoire, there has been amazing accommodation everywhere.
“The only place they have a little bit of shortage is in a city called San Pedro, where the Moroccan team is. Then outside the pitch of play, there have been amazing matches going on and everything has been going very well.
“To me, we are excited with the quality of play and display of good football artistry, quality of organization and most importantly, the quality of pitches.”
He also thanked President Bola Tinubu for showing support in his own way to the Super Eagles.
Pinnick said, “We also want to seize the opportunity to thank the president. At the appropriate time, he was able to sign all the approvals they requested. I believe we are on the right track but not to be carried away. Our concentration now should be to beat Angola.
“They are not an easy team but I believe we have a strategy and our defense have been voted to be one of the best so far.”
