The
Football Association of Malawi has written to FIFA to ask for their
decisive Group F World Cup qualifier against Nigeria to be moved from
Calabar. They want the match to be played in Abuja or another venue but
the Nigeria Football Federation officials have dismissed their protest
as a huge joke insisting the match will be played in Calabar.
They are also unhappy with the appointment of Hamada el Moussa Nampiandraza as referee for the match.
Belgian coach Tom Saintifiet, who
volunteered to lead the Flames against the Super Eagles, told local
media this week that he was not comfortable with the match being played
in Calabar.
“Nigeria would like to play in Calabar
because it is close to Cameroon in the south-east of Nigeria – not so
easy to reach with the only connection via Lagos and Abuja but with no
international flights,” he told the BBC.
“There are not so many hotels available
so it will be very difficult to get there. I have one question also
about security because the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office says
it is a no-travel area.
“FIFA they may have to think of shifting
the match either to Abuja or to another place outside Nigeria because
Calabar is obviously not the capital and it is not a big city. The
accommodation is not good for such a big game.
“But I think it is also a plan by
Nigeria. They try to disturb their opponents on and off the pitch. So in
all the ways we must be prepared as top professionals to try to find
solutions and make good plans.”
Malawi’s letter to FIFA reads, “There is
security risk in Calabar where the match will be played, as reported by
the Commonwealth Commission. The venue of the match is risky to our
delegation and we would like FIFA to shift the match to Abuja or to a
neutral country where our delegation will be safe.
“Calabar has been flagged as a high-risk
security area and this alert cannot be taken lightly. Our Minister of
Sports will be part of the travelling delegation and we do not want to
take security risks by travelling to Calabar.”
The NFF confirmed to The PUNCH on
Sunday that they have been contacted by FIFA on the position of Malawi.
The General Secretary of the NFF Mr. Musa Amadu who spoke with our
correspondent from New York said it was just the usual antics of teams
who were not sure of what they can achieve on the pitch.
He said, “What they are doing is not new
to us and Nigerians should simple see this as mere antics. FIFA has
been in touch with us and definitely by latest on Tuesday our security
guarantee should be with FIFA in Zurich.”
The Eagles have played their matches in
Calabar for nearly two years to date. The Kenyans also made similar
protest about Calabar before they played their game in March.
The Malawians also protested over the
appointment of referee Nampiandraza, who they say gave a “below par”
performance at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Malawi trail Nigeria by two points and must win to progress to the play-offs.
0 Comments