Nigeria: Mikel, others prevent Siasia from resigning

Nigeria's U23 coach Samson Siasia has been stopped from resigning as coach of Nigeria Olympic team after the quick intervention of team captain Mikel Obi and other players.


A top source in the team told reporters: “Siasia wanted to quit his post after the win over Sweden, but the players led by Mikel begged him to rescind his decision.

“The coach complained that he has been badly treated by the authorities, he has not been paid for five months and his team have not received the necessary support to succeed.”

The outspoken Siasia has openly complained about his poor working conditions even before the Rio Olympics.

And at the height of the drama when the team were stranded at their training base in Atlanta, Georgia, Siasia shunned the calls of sports minister Solomon Dalung and directly called the Nigerian vice-president Yemi Osinbajo to complain about his team’s plight.

Nigeria have already qualified for the last eight of the Rio Olympics and await the runners-up in Group A, which looks likely to be hosts Brazil, for a place in the semi-finals of the Olympics event.

They take on Colombia in the final group game on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.