+1
In the wake of a disappointing performance in South Africa, Nigeria's president has ordered his country's national team withdrawn from international competition for two years.
Nigeiran President Goodluck Johnathan has suspended the country's mens national team from international competition for two years following the Super Eagles "poor performance" in the World Cup.
Nigeria finished with one point in three matches, losing to Argentina and Greece before earning a draw with South Korea in the third match of Group B play. The Super Eagles lost to Argentina 1-0 to open the tournament. After Kalu Uche put the team up early in their second match with Greece, Sani Kaita's red card had Lars Lagerback's squad playing a man down for an hour, eventually losing 2-1. The team earned a 2-2 draw against South Korea where Uche and Chinedu Obasi had chances to give Nigeria a win, which would have put the team into the knockout stage.
The Nigerian government spoke to reporters today regarding the decision:
"Mr President has directed that Nigeria will withdraw from all international football competition for the next two years to enable Nigeria to reorganise its football," Ima Niboro, a special adviser to Goodluck Jonathan, told reporters.
"This directive became necessary following Nigeria's poor performance in the ongoing FIFA World Cup."
The suspension would preclude the Super Eagles from participation in the 2012 African Cup of Nations, to be jointly held in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea, and the 2013 Cup of Nations, to be held in Libya. Qualifying for both tournaments will begin in September, with Nigeria scheduled to play Madagascar in Abuja.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
Scoreboard data copyright © 2012 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.
OpenCalais - Powered by Thomson Reuters
•
Odds Shark 
FIFA "Looking Into" Government Interference In Nigeria, Possible Expulsion
With its president requesting a two year withdrawal from international competition in response to a poor showing at the World Cup, Nigeria has exposed itself to poasible expulsion from FIFA, a representative of soccer's governing body confirmed today.
On Wednesday, Nigeria's president Goodluck Johnathan requested a two year withdrawal from international competition for the Super Eagles, the expressed purpose being "to put its house in order," but with FIFA frowning on any governmental interference in soccer matters, the Nigerians have risked being expelled from FIFA, a punishment which has been used in the past.
Today, a FIFA communications director confirmed that President Goodluck's request is being assessed, lumping it in with the continued observation of the French government's concerns regarding their national team's performance:
Nigeria finished last in Group B with one point but was one goal away from going through to the knockout round. If they had scored in the final minutes against South Korea, they would have won a tiebreaker between themselves, South Korea and Greece for second place in the group behind Argentina.
Jul 01 1:25p by Richard Farley - 0 comments