The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has condemned the poor treatment of the players and officials of the Super Falcons at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
WuzupNigeria reported that Randy Wuldrum’s side were delayed by airport officials for three hours after returning home on a two-hour flight from Ivory Coast where they defeated Lady Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 in Abidjan to book their ticket for the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Reacting in a statement released on Thursday afternoon via Twitter, Dare expressed disappointment at the team’s treatment and called on the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria to investigate the incident thoroughly.
The Sports Minister “strongly condemned the unpleasant treatment of the national women senior football team, the @NGSuper_Falcons on their return to the country from Cote’d Ivoire early Thursday morning.”
In widely circulated videos trending on social media, the footballers and their officials were seen going through difficult times at the airport, delayed for about three to four hours owing to Covid 19 protocols and later the locking up of all terminal exit doors for a totally different reason.
One of the players, Uchenna Kalu, was seen lying on the floor, in pain and in dire need of medical attention.
Dare, “clearly disappointed with the incident, said a complete account of what happened has been received by his office and the Ministry will send it to the National Centre of Disease Control and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria to thoroughly investigate the matter and ensure that our footballers, sportsmen and women are treated fairly and respectfully.
“The Nigeria Football Federation will meet with the relevant authorities to review and ensure that this type of situation does not happen again.”
