BY JACOB AJOM
Coach of the Nigeria Olympic team, Austin Eguavoen is dismayed by the attitude of Moroccan officials towards the Nigerian squad ahead of the commencement of hostilities in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in that country this weekend.

Incidentally, Nigeria will confront the hosts in the Group A opener on Saturday. It is a match that will determine the course for either of the teams in the mini-tournament.

The Nigeria coach is raising alarm over the treatment meted out to his wards by the hosts who are employing all psychological taunts to harass their opponents.

Eguavoen

To start with, the Nigerians were denied training facilities because according to the coach, “their own team wanted to use the two pitches at the same time. They refused us access to the pitch and asked us to go elsewhere to train. I don’t know why they are so unsportsmanly.

“I thought there was an arrangement made with Raja Casablanca but they told us we can’t train there. We have been provided with a synthetic pitch.”

Eguavoen admitted that the non-cooperative attitude of the hosts has been exacerbated by the harsh weather conditions in Morocco. “We don’t train as much as we should and if we don’t train, how do we get acclimatised to the weather?” he asked.

Apart from the difficult conditions the team is facing in Morocco, Eguavoen has also lamented the absence of some of his top stars who were denied release by their European clubs, even when the case is the same with other countries in the tournament.

Eguavoen’s tone has sent shivers down the spines of top NFF officials who are becoming increasingly uneasy with the coach’s lack of confidence. “Whatever is the case we expect that the coach should be confident. Only that way can the players be confident,” an NFF official said.

Encouragingly, the Nigeria Football Federation has reacted sharply to the battle against the harsh weather conditions by dispatching winter wears to the team’s camp in Morocco.

Despite the myriad of problems, Eguavoen has assured, “we remain hopeful. The boys are working hard and all of them want to be at the Olympics. That is our target, despite the distractions.”