Samson Siasia, Chief Coach of Nigeria’s U-23 Dream Team VI for the Rio Olympics Games made a shocking confession recently: “We are being owed backlog of allowances and wages in the last five months. No single kobo has been pay to the team as at today. I’m pleading with the NFF and the Ministry of Sports to pay us our salaries. They should pay us before the Olympics. We are suffering. No fund at all, even we have not received the tickets to go to Brazil from here.”

“The team have suffered too much. There is no encouragement to show for our patriotism to the country,” lamented Siasia. While the coach insists he wasn’t given the country an ultimatum or threatening to boycott the tournament, Siasia expressed disappointment with the treatment meted to the Nigeria U-23 team. “We will not hold the country to ransom by threatening not to play our matches, but the government has to come to our rescue. I know that by the time the Olympics will be over, our monies will not be paid.”