Super Eagles apologises to Nigerians over failure to qualify for World Cup

The Vice Captain of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, William Troost-Ekong, has apologised to Nigerians on behalf of the team for their failure to qualify for Qatar 2022 World Cup.

The Super Eagles were forced to a 1-1 draw by the Black Stars of Ghana at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, on Tuesday after a goalless draw in Kumasi on Friday.

This saw the exit of Nigeria from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar later in the year, bringing disappointment to most  Nigerian football enthusiasts and fans.

Troost-Ekong posted the apology message on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday. This was on behalf of the Super Eagles.

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“To all Nigerians, on behalf of the team, we want to apologise for not securing the World Cup ticket.

“Despite giving it everything possible, it wasn’t meant to be.

“First and foremost, as Nigerians, we share your emotions and we take our responsibility as a group.

“We sincerely thank the Nigerian fans for their overwhelming support, the NFF President who did everything possible to make the qualification happen and of course the Minister.

“A bitter pill to swallow, but believe me we will be back better and stronger,” the post read on Facebook.

Fans had trooped in their numbers to the venue of the match to show support for the Super Eagles in order for Nigeria to secure the ticket to play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Also, the Nigeria Football Federation has offered an unreserved apology to the Federal Government and Nigerians for the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals holding in Qatar.

NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi expressed regrets that the team failed to qualify. This was despite the enormous support of the government and the fans who came out to support the team.

“There was nothing the team needed that was lacking. The Government provided necessary support; the NFF put all logistics in place with the active support of the Sports Ministry and Nigerians turned out en masse to support the team. The truth is that we left nothing to chance. It is sad that things turned out the way they did.

“Sport is about winning and losing. Nobody wants to lose but sometimes it happens that way. We were quite sad that despite playing a draw in Kumasi, the Super Eagles could not win here in Abuja. We apologise unreservedly to the government and people of Nigeria for this non-qualification.”