I will no longer work for Nigeria - Samson Siasia

I will no longer work for Nigeria - Samson Siasia

Babajide Orevba
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:44 PM

- Samson Siasia says he would not work for Nigeria as long as the NFF structure remains 

- The coach says he was never appreciated for the work done with the U-23 Dream Team 

- Siasia also gave his views on the manner in which the team was flown from Atlanta to Manus 

Following the Dream Team VI success at the Rio Olympics, head coach Samson Siasia says he will no longer work for Nigeria due to the ill treatment he and the team suffered.

The Dream Team were left stranded in the US just days ahead of the Olympics and arrived Manus, Brazil five hours before their first match against Japan with they eventually won 5 - 4.

I will no longer work for Nigeria - Samson Siasia
Samson Siasia during the Rio Olympics
Source: Unknown

Reports from the camp claim Siasia and the Dream Team were left to fund for themselves and it also emerged that captain John Mikel Obi had to donate some of his cash to help the cash strapped team.

He told Vanguard: "My next step is that I am done with Nigeria for now."

"You can’t keep going to a place where they don’t appreciate you. It does not worth it. Sometimes it is not about the money but the approach. They seem not to appreciate the sacrifices. I know how much I have sacrificed since the team began camping two years ago.

"How can you keep going to people who don’t appreciate you? It does not make sense, so I am done for now. I have to go somewhere else where they will appreciate what I have done and what I can do and pay me the respect that I deserve."

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He said he's been coming back to do the dirty jobs of NFF because of his fans.

"I know and that is why I keep coming to do the dirty jobs for them because of my numerous fans out there but I can’t just continue because those fans are not the policy makers. How can you keep toiling for five months without even your salary?

"Nothing has changed in the last two years. It has been from bad to worse, so we must sit down and do something about the structure of Nigerian football and by extension sports in general.

"It doesn’t worth it to work with the people running sports now in Nigeria. From the Federation to the sports ministry. They don’t have it and will not give what they don’t have. It feels bad."

I will no longer work for Nigeria - Samson Siasia
Nigeria dream team players won Bronze at the Rio Olympics
Source: Unknown

The coach also said he would love for the money supposed to be used to fly the players be Brazil be accounted for.

He said: "We are still waiting to see where the money that was meant for us to fly to Brazil has gone to. Nobody has said anything.

"The federal government sent the money to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the NOC said they sent the money to the airline in Florida which up till now they have not received anything, even the airline is planning to sue them for breach of contract because they were supposed to pay some money to them even if they were to cancel the arrangement.

"That is even another issue. We don’t even know how they are going to settle that."

Despite the troubles faced by the team, Siasia's boys did the nation proud by winning bronze medal - Nigeria's only medal at the games.

The Dream Team defeated Honduras 3 - 2 in a third place match played at the Maracana stadium.

Authors
Babajide Orevba photo
Babajide Orevba
Babajide Orevba is a CAF accredited Nigerian journalist and HOD of the Local Desk with over 10 years of experience in media landscape.He studied NCE Political Science/Social Studies, AOCOED.
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