A controversy has emerged regarding the payment for the Nigerian Olympic football team’s flight to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics.
Former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi claims he paid for the team’s flight, while Bunmi Jinadu, the organizer of the pre-Olympic camp in Atlanta, disputes this claim.
Mikel Obi has consistently stated that he paid for the team’s flight. “There was no money to pay for a flight, the players were worried… I spoke to the coach, we looked for a plane and I had to pay for it,” Mikel Obi said in a podcast with Peter Crouch.
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He reiterated this claim in another podcast, stating that he had to cover the cost due to the team’s financial difficulties
Mikel Obi on the Obi one podcast ( source: x)
However, Bunmi Jinadu, who organized the pre-Olympic camp in Atlanta, has come out to debunk Mikel’s claims.
According to Jinadu, Delta Airlines sponsored the flight that took the Nigerian football team to Rio.
“I appealed to Delta to help our cause at the time. As soon as I got off that interview, I got a phone call from the leadership of Delta to tell me they heard the interview and they were working on it,” Jinadu explained in an interview with Elegbete TV.
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He further stated that Delta Airlines provided the plane for free, despite it ordinarily costing $250,000
Samson Siasia, the head coach of the Olympic Eagles during the 2016 Rio Olympics, has also weighed in on the controversy. “Mikel Obi did not pay any flight money for Olympic Eagles from United States to Brazil for the 2016 Olympics.
Former Olympic Eagles coach Samson Siasia disputes Mikel Obi’s claim of funding the team’s flight to Rio 2016, calling for proof of payment.
Nothing like that,” Siasia told AIT Sports. He added that Yemi Idowu had earlier paid for the team’s flight tickets, but the aircraft was too small. Siasia challenged Mikel Obi to produce a receipt if he indeed paid for the flight
The accounts of Mikel Obi and Bunmi Jinadu are vastly different, leaving the public to wonder who is telling the truth.
While Mikel Obi claims he paid for the team’s flight, Jinadu insists that Delta Airlines sponsored it. Siasia’s account further complicates the matter, suggesting that there may have been other arrangements made for the team’s travel.
Ultimately, without further evidence, it is difficult to determine who paid for the Super Eagles’ flight to Rio in 2016
