Nigeria’s Olympic men’s soccer team completed its frantic journey to Brazil on Thursday afternoon – arriving in Manaus less than seven hours before its opening game.
The squad had been stranded in Atlanta for several days due to a mix-up involving payment from Nigeria’s sports ministry to a charter jet company, before the players eventually boarded a Delta Airlines charter on Thursday morning.
Team spokesman Timi Ebikagboro confirmed that the Nigerians landed in Manaus at 2.19pm local time following a flight of just over six hours. The Super Eagles, the 1996 Olympic champions, will take on Japan in a Group B fixture at Arena Amazonia at 9pm.