FALCONTES FINALLY ARRIVE NIGERIA, DAY AFTER DEPARTING HOST COSTA RICA.
Written by AIGBOKHAEBHO OKHUELEIGBE on August 25, 2022
The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has promised to pay the country’s under-20 women’s soccer team, The Falconets their outstanding match bonuses as the team finally arrived home after an unusually long return journey from Costa Rica where they participated in the women under-20 FIFA World Cup.
NFF general secretary, Mohammed Sanusi and representative of the Minister of Sports, Toyin Ibitoye made the promise when they received the team at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja late Wednesday.
The Falconets had an unpleasant return journey from Costa Rica though. They overstayed by 24 hours at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey where they slept on benches and on the floor after they missed a connecting flight to Abuja.
The team was eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the Women’s u-20 World Cup in a 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands.
They were supposed to leave Costa Rica en route to Bogota, Colombia to Panama, and then Turkey to Abuja.
A 3-hour delay in their flight from Bogota to Panama and another 1-hour delay at the Panama Airport caused the team to miss their flight to Nigeria from Istanbul
Attempts to secure a compassionate transit visa for the Falconets at the Istanbul Airport to enter Turkey for proper rest were unsuccessful.
