Mikel Obi pays $4,000 to save Olympic football team from embarrassment at Brazil hotel

Chelsea star Mikel Obi has had to
shell out $4,000 to ensure the
Nigeria Olympic team caught their
flight to Salvador after the hotel in
Sao Paulo held the entire team to
ransom.


Players and officials of the Dream
Team VI, were held to ransom in Sao
Paulo, over unpaid bills incurred by
additional officals.

Organizers of the Games, insisted on
a team of 25 players – 18 players and seven officials.

A source confirms that it was the
responsibility of the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF), to offset the bills of the extra five officials.

“We just arrived Salvador now
from Sao Paolo. We nearly missed our flight because of unpaid bills in the hotel. The hotel held us to ransom,” a team official told AfricanFootball.com.

The problem is that all the
additional officials here in Brazil are the responsibility of the Nigeria Football Federation, who said they will pay for them, but they did not
pay for them again.

“The affected officials included the team’s media officer, the team
coordinator, the kits manager in charge of players and officials’ kits and the accompanying assistant
director technical.

“A call was put across to the honourable minister of youths and sports, he said we should put the bill in the (credit) card but the card
didn’t work. They tried and tried but the minister said that only 18 players and seven officials should be captured as regards payment according to the rules of the Olympic Games.

“So, the hotel bills of these other officials, about five of them cost the sum of over $4,000. They held us hostage for more than one hour and we nearly missed our flight. It was Mikel (Obi) who rescued us by paying the money.

“I can tell you honestly speaking that this incident is not the fault of the minister because the minister listed the people to be accommodated which were 18 players and seven officials.”

Africa football.com