After crashing out of the ongoing FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, the Nigeria U20 Women’s national team, Falconets, are stranded in Istanbul, Turkey.
According to feelers, the two times FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finalists left Costa Rica on Monday at 6:30am and were pictured sleeping on bare floor and chairs at the Istanbul Airport after staying at a spot for 24 hours.
According to a source with the team, “The situation got worsen as they have no transit visa to enable them secure accomodation.”
While at the tournament, sources disclosed that the team were provided with very limited equipment, with just three sets of their green home kit and two sets of the white away kit. This meant the players had to wash their jersey by hand after every game, and were unable to exchange jerseys.
Worse still, despite the NFF having an official kit supplier, the young ladies were not supplied official footwear and were asked instead to buy their own footwear.
And so the players – who are only getting paid $50 as daily match allowance and no bonuses – borrowed money to buy Nike sneakers and playing boots.
Falconets won all the three group C matches to earn maximum 9 points but their superb performance was put to a halt at the quarter final when Netherlands beat them 2-0.
This is not the first time the team similar humiliating circumstance.
Few weeks before their departure from Abuja, Nigeria’s capital to the tournament, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) abandoned them, a situation that forced both players and officials to treck to the venue of their training.
Officials of NFF were yet to speak on the latest development as at the time of filling this report.
