The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, has appealed to the national U-23 team, the Dream Team V1, not to boycott its quarter-final encounter against Denmark today in Salvador, at the ongoing Rio Olympics.
Dogara, made the appeal against the backdrop of complaints of the team’s Head Coach, Samson Siasia, that his players have refused to train and may boycott the game due to unpaid allowances and wages.
The federal lawmaker said the Dream Team should take patriotism as a fulcrum of their campaign, as he will personally do everything within his powers to intervene in the matter.
Dogara stated that the team with the likes of John Mikel Obi, Yakubu Umar, Oghenekaro Etebor and William Troost-Ekong has a very bright chance of repeating the feat of the Atlanta ’96 Dream Team led by the legendary Nwankwo Kanu and the team should be encouraged by all Nigerians.
“We will do all we can to ensure that all entitlements due to the team are paid, as we are already talking to relevant government agencies.
“We will stop at nothing to ensure that we get the team to excel in Brazil and for Nigeria to recreate the watershed of Atlanta ’96,” he stated.