BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil:Nigeria captain Vincent Enyeama said on Sunday that the row over bonuses that delayed the squad’s arrival at the Confederations Cup had not been resolved, but the players were putting it to the back of their minds.
The African champions did not arrive in Brazil until the early hours of Sunday morning, just 36 hours before their Group B opener against minnows Tahiti on Monday, after missing their scheduled flights on Thursday.
The players were unhappy about being offered bonus payments of $2,500 following a 1-1 draw with Namibia in World Cup qualifying and had demanded double that amount from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
A truce was eventually brokered by Sports Minister Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, but on the eve of their entrance into the Confederations Cup, Enyeama revealed that the players were still not satisfied.
“We haven’t settled anything, but we’ve moved on and everything is normal,” the Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper told journalists.
“We accept the criticisms, we’re responsible for our actions and we stay as a team.
“For now, this act is behind us. We’re professionals. We don’t want to talk about this -- it’s about the past and we don’t want to spend our energy on these things. After the championship we’ll revisit it, but for now we’re done.” Coach Stephen Keshi, seated beside Enyeama at the pre-game press conference, refused to criticise his players, but admitted he was concerned about the effects of their late arrival.
“I’m not going to tell you I’m upset with the players. The decision depends on the circumstances around it,” he said.
“We’re here, which is the most important thing. We’re here to make Africa proud and Nigeria proud. Whatever has happened before is behind us and we just need to concentrate and play our game. AFP
