MONCTON, NB – AUGUST 17: Fans cheer for Team Nigeria during the FIFA Women’s U-20 Quarter Final game between New Zealand and the Nigeria at Moncton Stadium on August 17, 2014 in Moncton, Canada. Nigeria defeated New Zealnad 4-1. (Photo by Dave Connell/Getty Images)

Nigerian men’s soccer team stuck at airport, will arrive in Brazil hours before first game

Because the charter airline that was supposed to fly the team hasn’t been paid yet, the Nigerian men’s soccer team is currently stranded at Atlanta International Airport.

The Nigeria Football Federation claimed that a “logistical mix-up” was why the payment hasn’t reached the bank account to the charter airline but since they haven’t seen that money, they are not flying the team to Brazil.

“The Nigerian government [sports ministry] is responsible for booking the tickets for the team to travel but we heard there is a logistical mix-up with payments,” a source close to the Nigeria Football Federation told the BBC.

“The money paid by the ministry for the charter flight did not hit airline’s account on Tuesday so they refused to fly the team to Brazil.”

After some uncertainty, it appears alternate plans were made so Nigeria can still head to Brazil. After a replacement plane was reportedly “too small,” the team now has a new flight out of Delta Airlines that’s set to take off at 7 AM ET Thursday morning.

This puts Nigeria in a bit of a time crunch. Even though the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics start Friday, the soccer portion actually started today with the women’s tournament. The men’s tournament starts Thursday and Nigeria is set to play Japan at 9 PM ET Thursday night. The team is supposed to get into Brazil a few hours before the game but this game is in Manaus and it is very difficult to get into Manaus as it’s in the middle of the Amazon rain forest.

If there are no issues from now until kickoff, Nigeria should be able to physically be at the stadium to face Japan. But considering being stranded at an airport the night before, the five hour flight the day of and having to play in one of the most humid stadiums on the planet all within a 24 hour span, I can’t see Nigeria mentally being in the game against Japan. And that’s very unfortunate for a country who typically has exceptional young talent and can be a contender at the Olympics.

[The Guardian/@ColinUdoh]

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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