Immediate past president of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Amaju Melvin Pinnick has revealed his regret at Nigeria missing action in Qatar.
The much criticised ex boss of the football house of Nigeria who is in Qatar as a FIFA official, expressed his feelings to Arise TV.
“There’s no day that passes that I don’t regret Nigeria not being in this tournament because trust me this would have been our tournament. Osimhen would have been like what Maradona was in 1986 in that World Cup,” Pinnick said.
He went ahead to apologise to Nigerians for the national team’s absence at the Mundial.
“Like I told the African teams [like Senegal and Morocco], we want an African team to win it [ the World Cup], but if you people don’t, Nigeria will be the first to win it, maybe in the next World Cup.
“When they are playing on the field, I take them as Nigerian. And again, I will apologize to Nigerians and I take responsibility as the then President of the Federation, but I believe we have gone beyond that now.”
“Let us enjoy the World Cup. Qatar has given us a wonderful spectacle to behold, and I believe we should enjoy it. I am a proud Nigerian and am happy to be here to represent the country with dignity at any time.”
Recall that the Super Eagles failed to qualify for Qatar 2022 for the first time since 2006 after playing a 1-1 draw with arch-rivals Ghana in Abuja a few months ago.
By Uche Dozie
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