Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Melvin Pinnick has declared that the nation’s soccer governing body will put everything into preparing the Super Eagles well for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, as the competition is their priority for 2019.
Pinnick admitted that preparing the Eagles adequately will be a major in helping the team win a fourth continental title this summer, such that all hands are already on deck at The Glasshouse to their build-up plans.
Footballlive.ng reports that, while Pinnick also made it clear that the NFF want all of Nigeria’s teams to excellent performances in each and every competition they are involved, the major focus is AFCON 2019.
Pinnick stressed that they are gunning for a repeat of AFCON 2013 in South Africa, when Sunday Mba got the only goal of the final on February 10 against Burkina Faso in Johannesburg to give Nigeria a third title.
Nigeria won its first AFCON title on home soil, when Segun Odegbami scored two of the goals in a 3-0 whiplash of Algeria in the Final at the National Stadium, Lagos on 22nd March 1980.
The second title came at Tunisia ’94, when Emmanuel Amuneke scored both goals in a 2-1 comeback defeat of Zambia at Stade El Menzah, Tunis.
Pinnick, who is also first vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and president of the AFCON Organizing Committee, is now seeking history to repeat itself for the Eagles at Egypt 2019.
He posited that a fourth African title is overdue for Nigeria, which he says it one of the biggest football playing nations of the universe and AFCON 2019 will provide the terrain to confirm that status.
Pinnick added: “There are so many competitions this year and we intend to, as usual, put our best foot forward in each and everyone of them.
“The target always is to emerge victorious. However, the very big one that we do not want to miss is the AFCON title.
“We have won it three times but we want it for a fourth time so that we can close the gap with the likes of Egypt and Cameroon.
“The NFF will work with the technical crew to achieve an excellent preparation of the Super Eagles for the tournament.
“Everything legitimate would be done to ensure the Super Eagles triumph in Egypt.
