I paid for the flight that took the U-23 Nigerian team to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil- Mikel Obi

John Mikel Obi has shared how he personally funded the U-23 Eagles team’s flight to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.

Mikel who was appointed captain of the team, led the U-23 team to a third-place finish in the men’s football tournament.

However, the former Chelsea midfielder disclosed that inadequate planning by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) almost derailed the team’s aspirations.

“When I represented my country at the Olympics in Brazil, we had to fly there, and we waited from morning till night, waiting for a plane to take us to Brazil,” Mikel said on his podcast.

“There was no plane to take us to Brazil because there was in-fighting behind the scene of who was going to pick up the tab.

“The FA didn’t want to pick up the tab, the government I think released the money, but the FA or whoever the money got into his hands refused to release the money.

“So we waited at the airport from morning till night but there was no flight. I had to pay for that flight to take us to Brazil. And these are little things.”