John Mikel Obi has disclosed that he financed the U-23 Eagles team’s trip to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
The former Chelsea player was one of the overage players selected by coach Samson Siasia and was appointed captain, guiding the team to a third-place finish in the football event.
Mikel Obi criticized the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) for their lack of proper planning, which almost derailed the team’s goals.
“When I represented my country at the Olympics in Brazil, we had to fly there, and we waited from morning till night, waiting for a plane to take us to Brazil,” Mikel said on his podcast.
“There was no plane to take us to Brazil because there was in-fighting behind the scene of who was going to pick up the tab.
“The FA didn’t want to pick up the tab, the government I think released the money, but the FA or whoever the money got into his hands refused to release the money.
“So we waited at the airport from morning till night but there was no flight. I had to pay for that flight to take us to Brazil. And these are little things.”
