AFCON Qualifier: How Sierra Leone Officials Harassed Super Eagles Team

Sierra Leonean authorities on Monday harassed and subjected Nigeria’s Super Eagles to detention at the Freetown International Airport, Sierra Leone as they discarded COVID-19 certificates provided by the visiting delegation.

The Super Eagles delegation is to meet that country’s national team on Tuesday for the second leg of the AFCON qualifier.

The Nigerian delegation had carried out COVID-19 test before leaving Benin on Monday morning but the tests were disregarded by the Sierra Leonean authorities who insisted that the Nigerians must undertake another test before being allowed into the country.

Pleas from the teams authorities and Nigerian High Commission officials in Sierra Leone that they be even allowed to go and rest in their hotels before another test were flatly rejected.

As Nigeria Football Federation’s spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, said in a statement, titled, ‘AFCON Qualifier: Super Eagles land in Freetown’:

“There was a hiccup at the airport as Sierra Leonean immigration officials insisted that the Nigerian players and officials must undergo COVID-19 tests right at the airport, even after evidence was provided by the Nigeria team that all delegation members did the tests and all returned negative just hours before boarding their flight in Benin City.

“Efforts by the top officials from the Nigeria High Commission and the Leader of Delegation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau to make the Sierra Leonean immigration officials understand that the results obtained few hours earlier were sufficient for the delegation members to enter into Freetown, prosecute the match and return to Nigeria, failed to sway the officials.

“Further pleas to allow the players and officials to leave the airport and for Sierra Leone to send medical officials to conduct the tests at the team hotel fell on deaf ears.

“After the tests, the players and officials boarded the ferry and eventually arrived at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Freetown just before 3 pm local time (4 pm in Nigeria).”

“The Eagles were due to have their official training at the Siaka Stevens Stadium (the venue of Tuesday’s match) on Monday evening,” the statement added.

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