NFF admits error in computing Ahmed Musa’s Super Eagles’ record

By Harry Awurumibe, Editor-in-Chief, Abuja

Apparently to absolve itself of blame, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says it has deferred to FIFA’s own record of 98 caps for Super Eagles’ captain Ahmed Musa, following the nullification of two of the matches he played in which should have made his tally 100.

“We defer to FIFA in this regard, so Ahmed Musa has 98 caps. If he features, as expected, in the home-and-away matches against Central African Republic in October, he will clock the tally of 100 and the celebrations will follow in full flow,” NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, said on Wednesday.

The Nigerian media (Sportsrevelation not involved) was awash before Tuesday’s Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup African qualifier match between Nigeria and Cape Verde that Musa will hit 100 caps but it was not to be as the NFF has acknowledged a default in the counting of the games Musa played.

FIFA said on Tuesday that Musa’s appearances in the 3-0 defeat of Togo in a friendly match in Paris in June 2017 and the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 qualifier against Algeria in Constantine in November 2017 did not count.

The match against Togo was struck off as both Nigeria and Togo made more than the regular number of changes in the game, while the encounter in Constantine, which ended 1-1, was deleted because Nigeria fielded an ineligible player and the result was overturned, with Algeria awarded the game, even as Nigeria had already picked the World Cup ticket before the tie.