Former Super Eagles’ full back, Mobi Oparaku has thrown his weight behind a decision by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to open the next camp of the national team in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
NFF officials are touting the idea of directing all players invited to the Eagles’ camp to travel directly to Kigali, instead of first reporting to Lagos or Abuja ahead of the March 21st clash with Rwanda’s Amavubi.
While projecting on the Eagles’ chances of defeating Rwanda at their backyard, and put their 2026 World Cup qualification back on track, Oparaku took into consideration the issue of high altitude in Kigali and reckoned that opening camp there directly instead of first coming to Nigeria would rule out issues of acclimatisation.
The member of Nigeria’s Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games’ gold medal winning team declared, “The new players and the old players all need to go there. That’s why I am supporting the NFF’s idea of taking them directly to Rwanda to start preparations for that game. I am in support of them going to Rwanda and prepare.”
The product of Iwuayanwu Nationale of Owerri, now Heartland, who played for Nigeria at the 1998 World Cup in France, concluded with information about the likely advantages of the Eagles’ opening camp in Kigali, especially as their new coach, Eric Chelle will be aiming for victory away to the group leaders in his first match after taking over the saddle.
“I am happy that they are being directed to do such. It’s a beautiful idea and a welcome development, especially for the new coach. It will also ensure that there will be total concentration and he will come out beautifully in his first game,” Oparaku enthused.
