The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has released a statement on Bafana Bafana's complicated travel issues ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Friday.
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According to Score Nigeria, the South African camp only landed in Uyo on Thursday night after being forced to spend a night in Port Harcourt due to their apparent late arrival in Nigeria.
This is ahead of Bafana's crucial World Cup qualifier in Nigeria on Friday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, which is more than a two-and-a-half hour drive from Port Harcourt.
The travel complications would be the last thing South Africa manager Hugo Broos and his players would have wanted as they seek all three points in their upcoming Group C clash.
NFF protocol chief Emmanuel Ayanbunmi has since insisted his federation is not to blame for Bafana's stressful trip.
"The problem has nothing to do with the NFF. As at the time they said they were taking off, it took them a further five hours to actually depart from South Africa," he said.
"We were not informed. We had informed officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service and other relevant agencies in Lagos to expedite action on the formalities for them.
"It was less than two hours to landing that they contacted us to say that the landing right they got was for Port Harcourt International Airport and not the MMA in Lagos. We had to quickly get in touch with officials of NMS and other agencies in Port Harcourt and mobilise people to ensure smooth formalities for them.
"Having completed all immigration formalities, they wanted to take off for Uyo but were informed that the Obong Victor Attah Airport only operates from sunrise to sunset, and so that was not possible. The NFF immediately mobilised resources for them to comfortably spend the night in Port Harcourt."
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The match between Finidi George's Super Eagles and Bafana will get underway at 21:00 on Friday night.
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