The Minister of Sports and Youth Development Sunday Dare has tasked the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to ensure that the Super Eagles secure maximum points on their way to qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Qatar as early as possible.
The three-time African champions will step up their campaign for a place at Qatar 2022 when they welcome Liberia to Lagos on September 3, before they play away to Cape Verde four days later.
“I wish to use this medium to urge the football family most especially the Nigerian Football Federation about the World Cup qualification which is at the door step. We are starting our first World Cup qualifying match early next month and it is expected that we take the matches seriously and prepare very well so that we can as well qualify for the World Cup in Qatar 2022,” Sports Minister Dare said in his address to the NFF Congress in Benin City
“We have two matches to play in the month of September, the match against Liberia and Cape Verde. I want to state here that we should avoid permutations at the dying minute. We should get ready to pick maximum points when needed at the early stage of the qualifiers so that we will not find ourselves in a tight corner.”
Dare also disclosed that membership of a committee set up by the Federal Government on a 10-year Master Plan for football will soon be made public.
The Minister said if stakeholders could put the country’s interest ahead, a lot more could be achieved.
“If you can genuinely put the country at heart in your Congress, we will continue to get it right as far as football is concerned,” he demanded.
