Soccer News of Thursday, 14 July 2011

Source: Raymond Yeboah(Arksports)

Ghana lntenatiaonal friendly not Financially rewarding - NFF

THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has revealed that it would not get any financial gain from the Super Eagles August 9 friendly match with the Black Stars of Ghana in Vicarage Road, Watford, England. Rather, what would accrue to the Super Eagles is the chance to prepare the team adequately with a Grade A match before the Nations Cup qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea later this year.

NFF Acting General Secretary, Musa Amadu, told The Guardian in Abuja yesterday that the Ghana Football Federation (GFA) would only take care of the players’ appearance fees, adding that the football rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana influenced the NFF to agree to the match.

“Everything is not about financial gain in this match. We stand to gain much outside the monetary aspect since we all agree that Ghana has a strong team that can give our own Super Eagles a tough game in Watford,” Amadu said. “There has been a long rivalry between the two countries in football, with Ghana always having the upper hand each time we met.

“We have not forgotten the experience of the Super Eagles’ last meeting with Ghana in London where they beat us 4-1. So we hope to use this match to get our own pound of flesh from the Ghanaian team, just as we did to the Argentines last month in Abuja.

“We will also use it to prepare our team sufficiently for the must-win match against Madagascar, which will brighten our chances of qualifying for the 2012 Nations Cup.”Also speaking on the match, NFF Technical Committee Chairman, Chris Green, disclosed that the Ghana FA has equally agreed to provide transportation and accommodation for the Nigerian team