Dylan Bettencourt
After being knocked out of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria began their trip home from Costa Rica – and it turned out to be a hell-ride.
Nicknamed the Falconets, the young guns had flight delays connecting in Panama and Colombia on their way to Turkey.
Then the players and staff members were stuck at Istanbul International Airport for 24 hours after they missed their flight to Abuja.
They were forced to sleep on the floor or the terminal chairs. Images of the team sleeping on the airport floor have been widely circulated on social media.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) released a statement claiming it is not to blame for the mishap.
But the players, explaining the horrors of their journey, said it doesn’t matter who caused the miscommunication.
“Who booked the flights is irrelevant because our experience in Turkey was avoidable,” one of the players, who requested to remain anonymous, told BBC Sport Africa.
“They wouldn’t let us leave the airport because we had no transit visas and the airline said they could not be responsible for passengers who missed their flights.”
The player added that they did not understand why they were not placid in accommodation until their next flight.
“Someone was communicating with the wrong people and for some reason they wouldn’t put us up in one of the airport hotels. We were sleeping rough on the floors and the chairs because the next flight to Abuja was scheduled for Wednesday,” the player said.
The NFF explained Fifa booked the flights from Costa Rica for the team and visa issues meant the players could not leave Istanbul airport to travel to a hotel.
A spokesperson for Fifa explained that while the governing body can arrange travel, connection delays and visa issues are outside of its control.
Adding to their woes, the Under-20 team were told they would only get paid when the senior team received their outstanding bonuses.
Image source: @VanguardNews
