Nigeria’s Falconets Stranded In Turkey, Sleeps On Bare Floor At Instabul Airport [Photos]

Nigeria’s under-20 female football team, Falconets have been left stranded in Turkey after their exit from the 2022 FIFA U20 Women World Cup in Costa Rica.

Falconets Stranded In Turkey

KanyiDaily recalls that on Sunday, August 21, the Falconets were eliminated from the tournament after losing 2-0 to the Netherlands team in this their quarter-final match in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

Barely 48 hours after they crashed out of the world cup, the young footballers were pictured sleeping on bare floor and chairs at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey.

It was gathered that the girls departed their hotel in Costa Rica at 6.30 am local time on Monday, and were billed to travel via Colombia to Istanbul for the flight to Abuja.

Unfortunately, Turkish Air delayed their flight from Colombia to Turkey for 2 hours 30 minutes which led them to miss their connecting flight to Turkey.

As a result, they also missed the Turkey connecting flight to Abuja.

It was gathered that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials led by Ruth David pleaded with the airport authorities to allow the team get a hotel accommodation but they insisted that since the team doesn’t have transit visas, the players would not be allowed to step out of the airport.

The General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mohammed Sanusi, who spoke to Punch, said the girls were not stranded, but they missed their flight in the European nation.

“The Falconets were not stranded in Turkey; to say the girls were stranded is a mischievous statement. It’s the fault of the airline,” he told The PUNCH.

“By the time they arrived in Istanbul, the connecting Turkish Airline flight that was supposed to convey them from Turkey to Abuja had left and the Falconets had to wait for the next flight.”

Sanusi said the Falconets had finally boarded a flight to Abuja.

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