Players in the camp of Nigeria’s amputee football national team, Special Eagles, are eager to get total attention and support from the federal government.
The team is currently preparing to participate in this year’s African Amputee Football Cup of Nations (AAFCON), which will hold in Egypt from April 18-26, but their camping condition is not top-notch.
Although a cross-section of the players commended the president and officials of Nigerian Amputee Football Federation (NAFF) for standing with them, they reckoned that their situation would be better with formal recognition by the federal government.
The Special Eagles have now sent a joint verbal plea to the minister of sports development, Senator John Owan Enoh, to lend them a hand of support.
Adding his voice to the appeal, one of four Turkey-based players in the team’s Lagos camp, Emmanuel Bethel Jack admitted that he has found it tough since joining the squad almost a week ago.
Speaking with Sports 247, he confessed that he has struggled to cope with the weather and bumpy training pitch, but added that he is determined to survive the storm.
Jack declared at length: “I am a midfielder, and my role is to help this team achieve what will take us to Cairo and make sure we bring the trophy back home.
“From the beginning, it was somehow difficult for me training with the team, especially due to the rough nature of the pitch; but I just stayed focused, knowing that, with time, we will all adapt to it.
“Besides, we never know what type of pitch we’ll play on over there. We just have to adapt and make sure we play as a team.
“It’s not up to one week that I’ve been here, but it has been stressful for me. Especially because of the weather.
All the same, the federation has been trying their best to make sure that everything is good for us.
“They want us to be fine, so that the players can be fit for the tournament.
Seriously, everything has been going well in their own way, but I believe, with time, everything will be balanced and well fixed up.”
He also ended with an appeal for hands of support to come officially from the federal government and the ministry of sports.
“The government should just support the players and this team as a whole.
I believe, without support from the government, the players will not be able to give their best,” Bethel Jack concluded.
