The activities of terror group, Boko Haram, in northern
Nigeria have denied the Super Eagles of a high-profile friendly against Brazil.
The Eagles were due to play the
former world champions in Nigeria during a FIFA window in September but the
recent bombings in some northern states forced the Brazilians to reconsider
their proposed visit to Nigeria and sought another African side for the friendly.
The Selacao thus settled for the
Bafana Bafana of South Africa, but the match will be played either in Brazil or
the USA on September 7.
The Nigeria Football Federation
however said the Nigeria versus Brazil friendly would still hold as planned. An
official of the football body said that the organisers had not given up on
bringing the Samba Boys to Nigeria.
“The friendly has not been cancelled;
the organizers are still hopeful of sorting out a few details in order to bring
the Brazilians to Nigeria. It is actually Guinness The Match arrangement and
the agent that is putting the match together is confident it will hold,” the
NFF official said.
Nigeria are looking to play a
high-profile friendly as coach Stephen Keshi continue to strengthen the team
ahead of their crucial qualifiers for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and the
2014 World Cup.
The bombings in the north have also
affected the hosting of league matches in the region. The Nigeria Premier
League was forced to suspend the Week 28 match between Jigawa Golden Stars and
Ocean Boys indefinitely due to the crisis in Kaduna. Both sides were scheduled
to play in Jigawa on Wednesday.
Ocean Boys were forced to return to
Abuja on Tuesday when they turned back from their journey to Dutse, the capital
of Jigawa State.
The new date for the match has yet to
be decided by the NPL.