There are strong indications that the Federal Government and FIFA will put a stop to the proposed international friendly match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Russian national team.
The Russian Football Union announced on Thursday that their national team will play Nigeria on June 6 in Moscow as part of three friendly games they will play during the next FIFA free window.
Apart from Nigeria, Russia will also play Zambia in March and Belarus on June 10. The time and venue for the friendly games are yet to be fixed.
“The Russian Football Union has reached agreements with the football federations of Zambia, Nigeria, and Belarus to hold friendly matches in the coming FIFA windows.
In March, Valery Karpin’s team will play against Zambia.
The game will be held in Moscow, with the exact time and location to be announced later.
“On June 6, the Russian national team will play a home match against Nigeria, and on June 10, they will play away against the national team of Belarus. The venues and start times of the matches will be announced later” the Russian FA said on its website.
However, mixed reactions have trailed the announcement of the friendly considering the fact that FIFA and UEFA have placed Russia under suspension since 2022 after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, that the Nigeria Football Federation has yet to announce the friendly game on its official handles showed that they are being careful not to get into murky waters with sources within the federation and the Presidency confirming that the friendly may not the see the light of the day.
“The idea to even play a friendly match against Russia is very daft and silly. It’s preposterous.
“How can you play a match against Russia no matter the amount of money that has been offered.
“Even the government of the country will not approve such a match because of the diplomatic implications.
“In the first instance, FIFA won’t even give the NFF and Russia FA the clearance to prosecute the match.
“The two federations are merely clowning” the source revealed to SportingLife exclusively.
