AFCON 2025
Former Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia has dismissed recent claims by John Obi Mikel that he personally paid for the Nigerian football team’s flight to the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
Mikel, who captained Nigeria’s U23 team at the Rio Olympics, had alleged that he covered the travel expenses for the squad due to the failure of Nigerian football authorities to make necessary arrangements.
The former Chelsea midfielder also lamented that he is yet to be reimbursed for the money spent.
However, Siasia, who was head coach of the Olympic team, refuted the claims, stating that Mikel did not pay for the team’s flight.
“Mikel did not pay for any flight tickets for the team. I say this as the head coach of the team then. He should bring the receipt if he paid. Maybe he is broke and looking for money. He should try other means to make money,” Siasia said.
He further clarified that while Mikel may have assisted with accommodation costs during the team’s stay in Brazil, the flight arrangements were handled by Delta Airlines.
“We only had issues in the hotel that we needed to sort out the bill. I think he did pay for some of the hotel bills, but the flight to Rio, Mikel didn’t pay for it. Delta Airlines was the one that flew us to Brazil. Mikel should stop talking about it. If he has a receipt to that effect, let him show us that he was the one who paid,” he added.
