President of Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, has dismissed a report in a section of the media that the much –anticipated international friendly match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Selecao of Brazil scheduled for March 29, 2015 had been cancelled.
“It is not true that the match had been cancelled. There is nothing like that. What people are probably not clear about is the fact that Brazil will play France around the same period.
“Brazil will play France on March 26, while they will fly to Nigeria to play the Super Eagles at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium on March 29. The two games and dates are quite different,” Pinnick clarified on Thursday.
He stated further: “We are working hard at ensuring that we utilize all the FIFA –free days for international friendlies next year. There are about 10 of those dates and we will get opponents for the Super Eagles for each and every one of them.
“We have firmly put behind us the Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Our focus now is on building a much stronger team through giving opportunities to foreign –based players who had either been on the fringes or previously shut out, and also taking good look at those players on the domestic scene who have shown some promise.”
Brazil, five –time champions of the world, played the Super Eagles in Nigeria previously, winning 3-0 in June 2003 in a friendly organized as part of activities to test –run the National Stadium, Abuja ahead of the 8th All-Africa Games that Nigeria hosted four months later.
