*I’m Sad I Wasn’t Able To Bring The Cup Back To Nigeria Says Peseiro
President Bola Tinubu has said that the Super Eagles of Nigeria showcased the strength of diversity through their team spirit and discipline at the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire.
The President said this while speaking at a reception in honour of the players at the State House in Abuja, on Tuesday, February 13.
He commended the squad for their exceptional on-field display of cohesion, tenacity, and persistence, highlighting the pride felt by Nigerians in the Super Eagles’ remarkable journey throughout the competition.
He said: “It is a great honour for me to receive you, our Super Eagles. As a team, you taught us lessons on resilience, togetherness, diversity, and excitement in competitive games.
”You started the tournament as if Nigeria would not assert itself, but you progressed to the finals. Through all the challenges and dealing with great humidity in the host country, you left your clubs and honoured your country. You gave us great excitement.
”You were determined. We salute your resilience. You lifted our spirits, and you made us proud. You made us smile as Nigerians.
”It is not easy to absorb a loss, particularly when the expectations are high. But you have demonstrated sportsmanship, resilience, and team spirit throughout the entire tournament. That is what AFCON stands for, the unity and resilience of the continent. You have done a great job, and I am very proud of you.”
President Tinubu pledged to continue investing in sports and youth development, adding: ”We will consult with you on how to facilitate and promote sports development. As your President, I will go out to attract greater private sector investment in the Nigerian Professional Football League.
“We have to grow our local league, and I promise to be a super promoter of sports in our country. Many of you may in the future become managers of our local premiership system. I want to say once again that I am proud of you, and Nigeria is proud of you. You are a lifter of spirits.”
Speaking on behalf of the team during the ceremony, William Troost-Ekong, the vice-captain, promised to work hard to surpass their achievements by winning the gold medal in the next competition.
He said: ”We are very grateful for your support during our time in Ivory Coast. We did our best until the final. I wish that we were here carrying the trophy for you.
”In 2019, I was here with a bronze medal. Now we are here with a silver medal. I have two gold-medal winners beside me here and all we can promise is that we will continue to work hard, and the next time we meet, hopefully, next year, we will be bringing home a gold medal.”
Meanwhile, the Coach of the Super Eagles, Jose Peseiro, has expressed sadness over the team’s inability to clinch victory at the CAF’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on Sunday, February 11.
Peseiro expressed his disappointment during a press briefing on Tuesday, February 13, at the State House, Abuja, where he and other members of the national team were honoured by President Bola Tinubu for their performance at the AFCON tournament.
While expressing his sadness, Peseiro also expressed gratitude for the invitation to the State House and the recognition and gifts bestowed upon them by President Tinubu.
Despite the outcome, he commended the team’s effort at the tournament, stating that they had given their all.
He said: “First of all, I’ll like to say thank you to the President. I am 60 years old, this is the first time a president invited me to his house. It’s a honour and a pride to me that the President of the Republic of Nigeria invited me to come here. Thank you very much.
“About the final, if you ask me, I think we did a fantastic job, our team showed very good spirit and played well. My boys did 100 percent, same for my staff and the NFF was the biggest for us. So you can find my staff also and everybody, thank you to the players.
“Of course I would have liked to bring the cup to the Nigerian people, I’m sad about that, but of course I’m happy because I think we did a fantastic job. In the final, I think we felt that atmosphere.”
Also speaking to journalists after the meeting with the president, the goalkeeper of the national team, Stanley Nwabali, said he will be returning to his South African club side, Chippa United, saying he has no reason to fear going back.
Nwabali was reportedly threatened on social media by some fanatic supporters of the South African national team, Bafana Bafana, for being instrumental to the ouster of their team at the semi-final stage, though he plays for a South African club.
Nwabali stopped two penalty kicks by Bafana Bafana players in the decider penalty stage, during the Nigerian – South African semi-final match at the Stade de la Paix, in Bouake.
Asked if he would be returning to Chippa United, Nwabali said: “I must go back to my club, but talking about the threat, this is football, you can’t threaten someone because they also won some other teams too. How about if those they beat decided to keep threatening your players? It doesn’t make sense. It’s football, I don’t think there’s anything attached to it. Maybe it was just someone writing on social media.
He said: “But it’s cool to me because I spoke to my chairman like three days ago, but he didn’t say anything like all that stuffs. So he felt like ‘no, it’s cool, you can come back. Definitely, I must go back to my club because they owe me.”
The post AFCON: Our Strength Lies In Diversity — Tinubu Tells Super Eagles appeared first on Barristers.NG.
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