All players, coach and officials of the Nigerian national team were on Monday forced to undergo fresh coronavirus tests on arrival in Freetown, as Sierra Leonean immigration personnel insisted the Super Eagles should undergo the health procedure ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday, megasportsarena.com gathered.
Although the Nigerian players and other members of the delegation had earlier gone through the same routine both on arrival and departure in Benin City, where the first leg clash with The Leone Stars took place last Friday at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, they were forced to take fresh COVID-19 checks on arrival in Freetown.
This much was disclosed by the communications department of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which added that Sierra Leonean immigration officials insisted that the Eagles’ players and officials must undergo further COVID-19 tests at the airport.
This was despite the Nigerian delegation providing evidence that all members of the contingent already had the same tests twice in Benin City and the entire checks returned negative both before Friday’s match as well as just hours before boarding a chartered flight to Freetown.
The players, therefore, had to go through another round of lengthy COVID-19 tests after the Eagles’ delegation to Tuesday’s reverse fixture against Sierra Leone arrived in Freetown, where they eventually had a 30-minute ferry ride on the Atlantic Ocean from Lungi International Airport to the city centre.
That was after the Nigerian delegation’s chartered aircraft touched down in Lungi at 12:15pm local time and received on arrival by charge d’affaires of of the fellow-West African country’s high commission in Sierra Leone, Mr Sona Charles, who was accompanied by the consular, Mr. Paul Alabi and some members of Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA).
The NFF’s media united stated: “Efforts by the top officials from the Nigeria High Commission and the Leader of Delegation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau to make the Sierra Leonean immigration officials understand that the results obtained few hours earlier were sufficient for the delegation members to enter into Freetown, prosecute the match and return to Nigeria, failed to sway the officials.
“Further pleas to allow the players and officials leave the airport and for Sierra Leone to send medical officials to conduct the tests at the team hotel fell on deaf ears. After the tests, the players and officials boarded the ferry and eventually arrived at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Freetown just before 3pm local time (4pm in Nigeria).”
