‘Incident Unfortunate’ – NFF Apologises To Super Falcons Over Airport Delay

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has apologised to the Super Falcons over their delay at the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport in Abuja.

Naija News earlier reported that officials and players of the Super Falcons were held up for hours on Thursday at the airport after returning to the country from a qualifying game in Ivory Coast.

The national team, who sealed a spot at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nation, were prevented from leaving the airport by officials of the airport and Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) due to issues with COVID-19 tests.

Coach Randy Waldrum and Europe-based duo of Francisca Ordega and Rasheedat Ajibade condemned the delay, describing it as embarrassing and frustrating.

Reacting to the development in a statement, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said the federation was not responsible for the delay at the airport.

Sanusi described the incident as “unfortunate”, adding that the officials of the federation were on ground to welcome the players and officials.

He said: “We had our protocol officers on ground at the airport and they did [what was necessary] before the team arrived.

“We are a responsible organisation and the various national teams have been going out and returning to Nigeria since these Covid-19 protocols, procedures and guidelines started. We have never been caught napping.

“We had no control over how things would be approached by the officials in charge at the airport each time. In this particular case, we fulfilled our part of the requirements.”