There was mild drama at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Monday night ahead of the crucial clash between Nigeria and Ghana in the World Cup qualifying series.
A power outage at the renovated edifice was greeted with mixed reactions by fans who were torn between believing the incidence was deliberate or if it was an offshoot of the many breakdowns in the country’s power sector.
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According to reports, the Black Stars had exhausted the mandatory one hour they were meant to use but refused to leave the pitch.
“They had trained for the mandatory one hour when the groundsmen asked them to leave for them to start preparing the pitch for tomorrow’s match and they refused.
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“Even CAF officials pleaded with them and they still refused. At that point, the light had to be switched off on them,” revealed an insider.
The Black Stars arrived earlier on Monday in Abuja from Kumasi where they were held to a barren draw by the Super Eagles.
Nigeria has been at every FIFA World Cup finals since 1994, bar the 2006 edition in Germany, and reached the Round of 16 in USA 1994, France 1998, and Brazil 2014.
The last time both countries were involved in a FIFA World Cup qualifying was in 2001 when they finished 0-0 in Accra and Nigeria swept aside their visitors 3-0 in Port Harcourt in July 2001 to qualify for the tournament held in Korea and Japan.
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