Nigerian Olympic Football Team led by Coach Samson Siasia, arriving Manaus, on Thursday.
According to the CNN, the airline which has its headquarters in
Atlanta were touched by a video posted by the Nigeria football
Federation, NFF of the historic moment 20 years ago in Atlanta on August
3, 1996, captioned: “Our Dream Team won gold in the football event of
the Atlanta Olympic games #20YearsAgoInAtlanta.”
The airline, it was reported, is temporarily picking up the bills of
the charter flight, with an understanding that the NFF will pay them
back later. The unfortunate incident, it was gathered was caused by a
payment mix-up between the sports ministry and a charter airline firm.
The ministry, unlike the usual practice, decided to deal directly with
the charter firm instead of appointing an agency which knows the
terrain.
“The Nigerian Olympic football team were stranded at the airport and
almost not going to make their match against Japan,” said Reese
McCranie, director of policy and communications for Hartsfield
International Airport in Atlanta. The airport decided to work with Delta
to make sure the team made its match on time, he told CNN.
Shockingly too, the Delta airline, it was reported, was not only
picking the bill of flying the team from Atlanta to Manaus, venue of
their match against Japan but also had to put them in a hotel in Atlanta
after they were left stranded at the airport.
Stressing that their decision to help the U-23 team out of their
predicament came down to a moment’s notice, Delta airline spokesman
Anthony Black said, “This is a special occasion, not only because it’s
the Olympics.
Exactly 20 years ago, on this day, the Nigerian football team needed a
miracle to beat Argentina to win the gold medal in Atlanta at the
Olympics. Today, we are happy to help them with another miracle.”
An elated team coach, Samson Siasia who told Delta airline that they
chose to train in Atlanta because of the gold they won there 20 years
ago expressed his happiness at being in Atlanta and foreshadowed the
team’s difficulty in getting on a flight.
“Well, we are here [Atlanta], that’s a good thing … we are having
struggles here and there like every federation but the [Nigerian
Football] Federation is behind us to make sure we are prepared well to
the Olympics,” he said.
Aware the team will arrive only a couple of hours to the opening
match, Siasia said the flight on Delta airline makes the players happy
because they “will have more leg room and they will be able to sleep on
their way to Manaus.”
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