Mikel Obi funded Nigeria’s Olympic Football Team flight to Brazil in 2016 due to NFF’s inaction

Mikel, who was the team’s captain and one of the three overage players, shared a frustrating experience at the airport, where the team waited from morning till night for a flight that never arrived.
Former Nigerian football star John Mikel Obi has disclosed that he personally funded the U-23 Eagles team’s flight to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
In his podcast, The Obi One Podcast, posted on YouTube on Thursday, Mikel highlighted the corruption within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), stating that he had to cover the team’s travel expenses to ensure their participation in the tournament.
Mikel, who was the team’s captain and one of the three overage players, recounted the frustrating experience at the airport, where the team waited from morning till night for a flight that never materialized.
According to Mikel, the NFF leadership failed to disburse the government-funded allocation for the team’s flight to the tournament, despite the urgency of the situation.
With the deadline approaching, Mikel took the initiative and personally covered the flight expenses, ensuring the team’s participation in the tournament, a decision made nearly eight years ago.
He said, “When I represented my country at the Olympics in Brazil, we had to fly there, and we waited from morning till night, waiting for a plane to take us to Brazil.
“There was no plane to take us to Brazil because there was in-fighting behind the scenes about who was going to pick up the tab.
“The FA didn’t want to pick up the tab, the government, I think, released the money, but the FA or whoever the money got into his hands refused to release the money.
“So we waited at the airport from morning till night, but there was no flight. I had to pay for that flight to take us to Brazil. And these are little things.”
The U-23 Eagles’ subsequent bronze medal win in the men’s football event at the 2016 Olympics was a testament to the team’s resilience. However, Mikel’s revelation shed light on the systemic challenges Nigerian athletes face when representing the country internationally.
This issue was further highlighted by the failure of the Nigerian team at the Olympic Games in Paris, France, to win any medal at the event.
This disappointing performance, despite a spending of over N8 billion, sparked widespread outrage among Nigerians, who criticized the authorities for their incompetence.
This has led to calls for the resignation of Senator John Enoh, the Minister of Sports Development.