As Nigeria lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final, the lethargic performance of the Super Eagles had many of their fans wondering why they couldn’t match the intensity of Ivorians. The home coach Emerse said after the match that at half-time they noticed that Nigerian players were tiring and decided to increase the tempo in the second half, which the flagging Nigerians couldn’t cope with, conceding two goals in that half after taking the lead in the first.
A source revealed to Naijiant.com that the Nigerian players were “frolicking” with women “throughout the night before the game in their hotel”, adding “that’s probably why they were tired”.
The source is a member of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). He didn’t explain whether he attempted to prevent the “frolicking” and why women had such access to the players’ rooms. It is not clear whether coach Jose Peseiro had a tight grip on discipline in the camp or whether he was relaxed about possible conjugal visits.
Conspiracy theorists may also imagine there is a suggestion of foul play if the women involved were Ivorians with the intent of undermining the Nigerian effort with a sleepless night for the Nigerian players, while the Ivorians were well rested.
This won’t be the first time the national team has been associated with smuggling women into their rooms during big tournaments. During the World Cup in France in 1998, defender Godwin Okpara was alleged to have been confronted by the head of the NFF delegation as he was in bed with a woman.
At the Afcon in 2004 in Tunisia, defender Celestine Babayaro and striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni were sent home before the team’s second match of the tournament against South Africa, in another incident involving women in their hotel rooms.
Incidentally, Clemens Westerhof, who coached Nigeria from 1989 to 1994, said he didn’t have a problem with players having sex before matches. He said his problem was the time spent on all the activities leading up to the sexual encounter.
