Players of the senior national team of Nigeria have voiced their unhappiness over the poor state of the venue for today’s world cup qualifiers game against South Africa, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
The game will be played at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, a pitch that is not among the top five in the country and its synonymous for hosting Rugby games, more than that football matches.
Players of the Nigerian team were shocked upon arriving at the stadium, with Ola Aina leading the call to FIFA on the poor state of the pitch with a video on his social media handles. ” FIFA approved this stadium for a game like this ?. They know what they are doing”, he said.
Defender Chidozie Awaziem was also not left out saying it’s unthinkable that a world cup qualifiers will be played on a bad pitch like this ” In a FIFA organised tournament. How is this pitch suitable for games?”.
Reigning Africa player of the year Ademola Lookman was seen in a video lamenting a patch on the pitch, saying it’s enough to cause an ankle injury if any player mistakenly steps his foot there.
Head coach of Nigeria’s host South Africa Hugo Broos was also vocal about the abysmal state of the pitch. ” “I have said already before, I am not happy with the pitch either,” Broos told reporters about the venue for Nigeria vs South Africa game.
“There were people that blamed me that I didn’t want to play here [Free State Stadium], this is stupid. This is nonsense, we would like to have a very good pitch like we had before.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
