Gabonese Fans Were Shouting “Ebola Nigeria” During Our Match-Eaglets Players

Friday, September 19, 2014

Nigeria' Flying Eaglets football players have recounted the ordeal faced by the team in the ill-fated encounter with their Gabonese counterparts, one that prompted the NFF to report the West African country to the Confederation of African Football​ (CAF).

Nigeria lost the controversial match 2-1 in Libreville, but faced a very hostile reception by Gabonese fans and football officials due to the recent Ebola outbreak.

Nigeria's Flying Eaglets national teamThe first incident occurred when Nigeria's team of 18 players and six officials were left embarrassed when the airline they boarded informed them that Gabonese authorities had instructed that they be offloaded from the aircraft alongside their luggage, even though CAF had given Nigeria a free pass regarding the virus.

“Even on getting to Libreville, we were warned not to even eat their food because of their hostile nature, which we later saw on match day," defender Halilu said. "We were robbed because of bad officiating by the referee and we were equally shocked when the fans started shouting at us and calling us ‘Ebola Nigeria! Ebola Nigeria!’" he said.

Eaglets captain Kelechi Nwakali says the team has put the nightmarish experience behind them as they turn attention to the second leg. “We are going to show Gabon why Nigeria is Under-17 defending champions and not ‘Ebola Nigeria’ as they called us during the match in Libreville,” Nwakali said.

A source within CAF, who spoke to Sahara Sports over the incident, said CAF has passed on the issue to its disciplinary committee to investigate and take action on the issue.

“The committee would sit over the issue and decide the line of action to take,” the source stated.