Nigeria Football Federation helmsman, Amaju Pinnick, has revealed that the Super Eagles must work conscientiously to avoid any stumbling block to their qualification for Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles are drawn in Group C with Liberia, Cape Verde and Central African Republic, but Pinnick posited that if the Super Eagles top the group, chances are that they would not be drawn with any of the top teams on the continent at the knock-out stages of the qualifiers.

“If Nigeria come out top of the group, then we would have avoided being drawn with countries like Algeria, Egypt, Senegal at the knock-out stages. That is the more reason we shall take the qualifiers very seriously,” he revealed.

The former Delta State football administrator hinted that the Super Eagles would be busy from now till November, stressing that the World Cup fixtures will run from now till November.

He promised that the Super Eagles would remain focused throughout the World Cup qualifiers to ensure that Nigeria picks the ticket for Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Also, he appealed to some aggrieved Nigerians who are critical of his administration to do it with caution, saying that they should see themselves as stakeholders in Nigerian football.

Pinnick, who has just been elected

to the executive committee of World Football governing body (FIFA), reasoned that until everybody is seeing Nigerian football beyond Amaju Pinnick-led team, but as stakeholders in the business of the round leather game, then we shall begin to make progress.

“Let us always think Nigeria…let’s think about how collectively we can move Nigerian football forward, but not narrow it down to Pinnick. If we think like that, things might not augur well.

“The other time we got a sponsorship deal for Nigerian football and the organisation were willing to invest good money, only for some Nigerians to write them to cancel the contract.

‘‘The last FIFA election somebody wrote to FIFA from Nigeria to disqualify me. We cannot continue this way and expect to make progress.
‘‘We thank God that things have started looking forward for Super Eagles after the match in Lagos.
‘‘At least we are already talking to three corporate bodies for sponsorship of the team. As we keep playing and winning, things will be looking positive for the team and Nigeria as a country,” he said in a popular television programme recently. However, when Pinnick was asked about government funding of football in the country, the Delta-born football administrator did not hesitate to canvass his position for corporate bodies- driven sponsorship of football, noting that this is the easiest way to move Nigerian football forward.

He believes that the  government should support football but not to take over the entire funding of the sport.

“For instance, if I budget N7bn, I should be able to raise N6bn from the corporate world, then government could come in to make up the balance.”