Former Nigerian football star John Mikel Obi has revealed a shocking story of how he single-handedly funded the flight for the U-23 Eagles team to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) failed to act.
Mikel, who served as the team captain and one of the three overage players, disclosed this during an episode of his podcast, The Obi One Podcast, which was posted on YouTube on Thursday.
Mikel recounted the frustrating experience the team faced at the airport, where they waited from morning until night for a flight that never arrived. According to him, the NFF leadership had failed to disburse the government-funded allocation intended to cover the team’s travel expenses to Brazil. As the deadline for their departure loomed, the situation grew more desperate.
“There was no plane to take us to Brazil because there was in-fighting behind the scene of who was going to pick up the tab,” Mikel explained. He further added, “The FA didn’t want to pick up the tab. The government, I think, released the money, but the FA or whoever the money got into his hands refused to release the money.”
With time running out and the team’s participation in the tournament at risk, Mikel took matters into his own hands. He personally paid for the flight, ensuring that the team made it to Brazil just in time to compete.
