By Emmanuel Jonathan
Some football fans in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) spoke with one voice on Wednesday night as they cheered the Super Eagles to victory at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Super Eagles and the Bafana Bafana of South Africa ended score 1-1 at regulation time and extra time before going into penalty shootout.
It was the Eagles that had the upper hand in the penalties after a 4-2 score.
Some football fans who watched the match at the Capitol Bar in Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, were seen speaking different languages – Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, while cheering the Nigerian team.
They spoke to NAN shortly after the match, and described the encounter as “entertaining”.
One of the fans, Kehinde Alagbada, said he was happy that the Super Eagles won the encounter against all odds.
“This is the happiest day of my life and I am proud to be a Nigerian from the Yoruba tribe,” he said.
Alagbada further said that if only football could unite Nigerians, the sky will be the limit of the country’s success and growth.
He said, “the victory of Super Eagles in the quarterfinal match is symbolic and demonstrates that if truly we can work together, the sky will be our only limit.”
He urged Nigerians to shelve tribalism, nepotism or actions that could cause disunity.
“We are stronger together and anything that will unite Nigerians should be paramount and promoted.”
Also speaking, Ralf Nwoye, another football enthusiast, said that the predictions ahead of the match made everyone tense as many people staked money on the encounter.
“One thing to take home is that for whatever reason, the God of soccer is with Nigerians in this AFCON 2023 and you can see that we won the match against all odds.
Nwoye said that the takeaway in the encounter was that as Nigerian, team work must be taken seriously.
He added, “We need to pull our strengths together no matter where we come from. There should not be discrimination among Nigerians because of their tribe.
“Every Nigerian should imbibe the attitude of team work. The fact that Osimhen and Lookman were substituted with Iheanancho and others, who came in and led the Super Eagles to victory, highlighted the importance of team work.
Hassan Jada, a football fan from the Northern part of the country also described the Super Eagles defeat of Bafana Bafana, as very sweet.
“I have confidence in the ability of the players we have in the Super Eagles, so I have no fear that we will win the AFCON 2023 trophy.
“This victory is a pointer that Nigeria will one day come out its backwardness.”
Maria Khan, a UK citizen based in Nigeria, also spoke to NAN on the outcome of the match, saying that it was a happy moment for Nigerians as the victory was exciting.
She tipped the Super Eagles to win the tournament on Sunday against host country Cote d’Ivoire. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Emmanuel Afonne
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