By Taiwo Adelu.
Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has challenged Coach Samson Siasia to win a ticket for Nigeria to play in the soccer event of Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Nigeria will join seven other countries to fight for the three tickets available for Africa in the Olympics qualifying tournament which kicks off in Senegal on Saturday. The competition is tagged U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
NFF President Amaju Pinnick tasked the U-23 national team, saying that finishing among the top three should be their sole focus.
Nigeria’s U-23 won Africa’s first –ever Olympics football gold at the Centennial Games in Atlanta, USA 19 years ago with aplomb, and seven years ago, a group led also by Siasia earned silver after losing a final battle to Lionel Messi –inspired Argentina at the majestic Bird’s Nest in Beijing.
However, the Class of 2011 faltered in the African qualifying race, losing to host Morocco and Senegal to crash out in the group phase at the inaugural Africa U-23 Championship. Failure meant the Dream Team were not at the London Olympics the following year.
“Presently, we are on a roll of good results and we are determined that those must continue. It’s been an exciting past few months during which we have won U-17 World Cup, qualified for the U-20 Women’s World Cup and reached the group stage of the African series for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
“The NFF is backing Samson Siasia because he is always keen to succeed. He has brought new, exciting faces to the group and there is confidence all around again. The ticket to the Olympics is non –negotiable,” said Pinnick in a press statement Friday evening.
The Nigeria U-23 play their first match of the campaign against Mali at the Caroline Faye Stadium in Mbour on Sunday evening.
Pinnick insists that Senegal will again prove to be happy hunting ground for Nigeria football after the U-20 decimated continental opposition to win the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations there eight months ago.
“We won the U-20 Cup of Nations in Senegal at the beginning of the year; now, we are back there for the Olympics ticket and the trophy. We will achieve both, because Samson Siasia has put together a crack squad and he has the support of the NFF all the way,” he said.
The Nigeria U-23 squad will also play Egypt and Algeria in the group phase. Only the top three finishers will qualify to represent Africa at the men’s football tournament of next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, taking place 3 -20 August, 2016.
Taiwo Adelu :Twitter :@taiwo007, Facebook :Taiwo Adelu, email :taiwosamson2002@yahoo.com