About 250 members of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, NFSC, will miss watching the match between Nigeria and France in Brasilia today as they had to leave Brazil yesterday for Nigeria due to paucity of funds.
According to some aggrieved members, the return ticket for most members of the club was for June 29 and others for July 1, but the leadership did not notify the affected until Saturday, even as their flight was billed for 12:40am yesterday.
Only 100 members of the club left Sao Paulo yesterday for Brasilia, about 16 hours drive by road.
A member, who gave her name as Uju, said: “We have enough funds. Most of us paid N300, 000. I paid N300, 000 as money charged. I spent N80, 000 as visa fee, but I was left in Nigeria and had to spend another N350, 000 to get to Brazil.
“President Goodluck Jonathan gave the club N50m and our major sponsors – Globacom, Guinness and even Alhaji Aliko Dangote.”
Another member of the club, who gave his name simply as Oba, said: “I paid N300, 000, but since I got to Brazil I have been feeding myself.
“I have also spent my pocket money for all the trips on the road to Curitiba, Cuiaba, Porto Alegre and back to Sao Paolo. How can the leaders arrange that we are leaving after the group stage? Were they pessimistic about the Super Eagles’ performance?”
Another member, who also gave her name simply as Titilayo, said: “Even though they had made such arrangements, now that the Super Eagles are in the Round of 16, the leaders are supposed to reschedule our flights by extending it. When we get home, the President- General and the national chairman must explain to us what they did with our money.”
A member from the Lagos State chapter of the club, however, noted that the crisis had resulted from what he called internal crisis in the club.
He alleged that a faction of the club had hoarded funds donated by some multi-national organisations.
But the President-General of the club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, who admitted the crisis, said: “Some members have to go for some of us to still stay to support the Super Eagles.”
Source: National Mirror
