Super Eagles’ preparations for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin has been set back a notch following visa issues for some players.
Seven newly invited players are reportedly stranded without entry visas to South Africa, where Coach Eric Sekou Chelle and some of his technical staff are already present for this crucial assignment.
The team’s training camp at The Ranch Hotel in Polokwane was scheduled to commence today, following its opening yesterday, but the absence of these players means full squad training will likely be delayed until the day before the match due to this organizational hiccup.
“There’s a major organisational hiccup as it concerns entry visas to South Africa – at least seven players cannot be in that country before Wednesday because of this,” a top source reportedly told SCORENigeria. “It means there may not be full squad training until possibly a day to the match. This is catastrophic!”
According to the news outlet, the majority of players from last month’s qualifiers were granted three-month multiple entry visas, the newly invited players and several recalled ones are experiencing complications.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) is reportedly addressing the situation to ensure the affected players can join the squad in time.