Julius Aghahowa, former Super Eagles forward, has said that sponsorship deals have been lost following the failure of the Super Eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The former Nigerian international backs the Teranga Lions of Senegal to succeed at this year’s global football showpiece.
He stated this during the unveiling of Goldberg Premium Lager and Life Continental as the official beers of the Super Eagles.
The event took place at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The unveiling was also grace by former Eagles players, Ifeanyi Udeze and Mutiu Adepoju.
Speaking on why he will support Senegal ahead of other African teams such as Ghana, Morocco, Cameroon, and Tunisia, Aghahowa said, “We have the African champions and I will be going for Senegal but I know they don’t like me very much in Senegal because I did to them at AFCON 2000 and AFCON 2002 and they will not forget that.
“Despite that, I will still support them because they worked very hard to become African champions and they will represent the continent very well.”
Aghahowa spoke about the effect the absence of the Super Eagles will have on Nigerian fans.
“It’s going to be a different ball game because Nigeria is not playing so the whole country will feel it, the fans will be relaxed as well.
See Also: Pinnick Responsible For Super Eagles’ Failure To Qualify For Qatar 2022 – Rohr
“Even the big brands have withdrawn from sponsorships, some of the broadcasting stations were supposed to travel to Qatar to represent their brands and also promote these companies as well. But at the end of the day, we didn’t qualify and we all lost out.”
Commenting on the inclusion of more home-based players in the Super Eagles, he said, ”Even if it’s one or two let them have their chance. I remember back in the days we had good players that came from the local league and impressed in the national team.
“We are the product of the Nigerian league, we came into the national team and proved ourselves. When you come like an underdog from the local league you have a point to prove and you want to impress not just yourself but the whole fans.
“But when you have the whole team coming from Europe they don’t really have that rough edges around them to withstand this African teams because in Africa it’s a different ball game. But I always have the believe in these players, their techniques there is no question about it but when it comes to Africa during the qualifiers you meet strong opponents, those who are ready to die for the game and we need to have that in the team.”
Source: Complete Sports
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