NFF officials carry out a test run of boat trip to Port Novo ahead of Eagles match on March 27

NIGERIAN Football Federation (NFF) officials have carried out a test run of a boat ride between Lagos and Port Novo ahead of the Super Eagles impending African Nations Cup qualifier against Benin Republic on March 27.

On Saturday Match 27, the Eagle will face the Squirrels of Benin Republic at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo. Nigeria and Benin Republic are linked by the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, which once used to be the country's best motorway but over recent years, it has fallen into such a state of disrepair that it is no longer usable.

To get to Benin Republic, the team will now travel bit boat, which has raised safety fears in certain quarters, especially among the European clubsides the Nigerian players ply their trade with. To allay such fears and ensure the trip is safe, a select group of NFF officials have embarked on a test run of the trip.

One NFF official who was on the trip, said: “We want to be sure if it will be safe and easier for the team to go by boat for the match this weekend. The road is not good between Lagos and Cotonou and it may take just two hours crossing the water, instead of many hours on bad roads.”

NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, added: “Going to Cotonou by boat, I do that all the time. When we were going to inspect the venue, we did it, so there is nothing wrong with exploring other forms of adventure in Nigeria."

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) has allowed 10,000 fans to watch the Nations Cup qualifier between the Super Eagles and Lesotho’s Crocodiles at the Teslim Balogun stadium in Lagos on March 30. Caf gave the nod in response to NFF request to allow fans to watch the match in Lagos but warned that they have to comply with the Covid-19 protocols.

An NFF official added: “We are returning the Super Eagles to Lagos for the first time in 20 years and we felt it would not be fair to play in an empty stadium, hence we applied to Caf to allow us admit fans into the Teslim Balogun stadium for our game against Lesotho. Fortunately for us, Caf obliged by allowing the admittance of 30% of the stadium’s total capacity to watch the game, so we expect about 10,000 fans to be at the stadium to cheer the Super Eagles to victory on March 30.”

Caf, however warned that it would not condone any breach of the Covid-19 protocols stressing that temperature check of the fans and social distancing must also be observed. According to the NFF, all hands are on deck to ensure that they spread the fans round the stadium in compliance with the Covid-19 protocols.