A special fundraising committee – “Fly Me to Russia 2018â€- set up by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has appealed for support for Nigeria’s Super Eagles as the three-time African champions begin preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign in Russia later in June this year.
The appeal was made when members of the committee led by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Adesola Olusade, paid a courtesy visit to Total E&P Nigeria Limited at its office in Lagos last Friday.
Mr. Olusade who represented the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Solomon Dalung said the team was at Total E&P to solicit support for the Nigerian team to enable Eagles perform optimally at the competition.
He said there was currently a huge funding gap between what the team needed for the campaign and what it had, and called on Total to support the team as government alone would not be able to fund the Nigerian team.
The permanent secretary was accompanied on the visit to Total by former Super Eagles team members, Samson Siasia, Augustine Eguavoen and Waidi Akanni as well as President of Para- weightlifting Nigeria, Queen Oboh Idris, among other committee members.
While receiving the team, the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water District, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ahmadu-Kida Musa, thanked the committee members for the visit.
He acknowledged the individual roles each of the committee members played in the development of football and sports in Nigeria.
“It is with deep gratitude that I welcome you to Total. A lot of us are proud Nigerians, proud of the things you the legends have done in the past and hoping that Nigeria would again find its good footing in sports in order for us to excel,†he said.
Mr. Musa said Total remained committed to sports as a veritable way of positively engaging the youths and taking them off the streets.
He said apart from its participation and sponsorship of local sporting events, Total had taken over the sponsorship of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) competition.
The deputy managing director who represented the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Nicolas Terraz, promised to convey the committee’s request to the company’s management for consideration.
