On arrival, the players and officials of the team were received by a crowd of Nigerian soccer fans.
On hand to receive the players were emi¬nent Nigerians including members of the National Assembly led by the Chairman, Senate Com¬mittee on Sports, Sena¬tor Obinna Ogba, former member House of Rep¬resentatives Committee on Sports, Hon Yahaya Kwande, the Director General, National Sports Commission (NSC) Mal¬lam Al-Hassan Yakmut, board members and staff of the Sports Commission and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
When the players and officials emerged from the arrival hall, activities at the airport was literally brought to a halt.
As the players displayed the tournament’s trophy and individual awards won in Chile, the fans went ber¬serk with dancing, strug¬gling and stumbling on each other in a bid to either take a shot with the players or have a feel of the tro¬phies.
Joining the long mo¬torcade numbering over 50 vehicles, the players and officials were driven through the airport road where several Nigerians abandoned their activi¬ties and lined up the road to identify with them as they headed into the city through the Abuja National Stadium.
Speaking on arrival, chief coach of the team, Emmanuel Amunike, told journalists that he was happy to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.
“Really, what matters more to me is the cheerful feelings of Nigerians. It is a thing of joy to see Nige¬rians bask in the euphoria of what we have done. I am particularly happy that out of 170 million Nige¬rians I was privileged and honored to serve my fa¬therland. I am glad that we are collectively celebrating today,” he said.
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