The Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC), according to its national chairman Samuuel Ikpea, will organize at least 700 supporters to cheer on the Super Eagles in Cote d’Ivoire.
The Super Eagles are scheduled to compete for Nigeria in the 34th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
It is anticipated that the competition would begin on January 13 and conclude on February 11.
Ikpea told NAN that the NFSC was doing everything in its power to guarantee that the Super Eagles receive all of the crucial fan support they require throughout the competition.
“In Cote d’Ivoire, we have a chapter. You are aware, of course, that the NFSC maintains offices and chapters all over the world, and it appears that Cote d’Ivoire is one of them.
“Alh. Mudashiru will be leading around 50 fans from our Ghana chapter, and we now have over 300 fans in Abidjan.
“Mr. Osita is arriving with fifteen fans from our South African branch, and Alh. Ibrahim Bashiru is leading twenty fans from our Niger chapter.
Along with the 300 fans we are taking with us from Nigeria, Togo will be joining us at Aflo with 30 fans, he added.
All hands were on deck, according to the NFSC chief, to make sure the Eagles won every game.
“I want to reassure Nigerians that we will not be playing 11 against 12 when the Super Eagles play the host country.” Instead, it will pit 12 players against 12.
This is due to the fact that the NFSC, which will be invading Cote d’Ivoire with roughly 300 Nigerian supporters, has frequently comprised the 12th player.
This figure will increase our already-existing fan base in Côte d’Ivoire.
in order to spare the Super Eagles from experiencing the same fate as we did when we faced Argentina in the World Cup in Russia.
He declared, “We are exerting every humanly effort to see if we can surpass that number of 300 fans.”
He appealed to business entities, private organizations, and philanthropists to support the NFSC in its endeavor to secure complete backing for the Super Eagles.
We are requesting financial support from corporations, private organizations, and philanthropists in order to enable us to travel to Cote d’Ivoire in significant quantities.
We think that this time, we’re going to bring home the trophy in addition to defeating Cote d’Ivoire at home.
“Against all odds, considering whether we have a good coach or the right players, even though Nigerians do not really have that confidence,” he remarked.
He bemoaned the challenging circumstances that the NFSC frequently faces in order to guarantee that they assist the team.
“The NFSC has experienced grief and sadness, but we have always fulfilled our responsibility as the team’s 12th player when the Super Eagles play.
“You find the members of the NFSC dancing and working out, regardless of how well the Super Eagles are performing. That’s one of our areas of expertise.
encouraging these athletes regardless of their performance. At times, they struggle for more than five hours to reach a game location, whereas the Super Eagles effortlessly soar there.
He claimed, “These same people sometimes do not receive the recognition they rightfully deserve.”
The most excruciating aspect of it all, according to him, is that a single person’s typical return ticket to Cote d’ivoire costs roughly N 800,000.
According to Ikpea, the Super Eagles consistently perform better when the NFSC provides them with the crucial support of the crowd.
When we play the hosts in the largest game of that group on January 18, we will do just that. After that, we’ll start to destroy other teams and go on.
He declared, “Nigerians should have hope and the NFSC should receive funding so that we can send a large delegation to Cote d’Ivoire to boost these players’ morale.”
According to NAN, 24 teams—including Ivory Coast, who automatically qualified as the hosts—qualified to compete in the championship match.
