Nigerian soccer team arrives in Brazil just hours before kickoff
The tumultuous journey of the Nigerian Olympic soccer team has finally come to an end in Manaus, Brazil just hours before their first match of Rio 2016.
Finally, the players have arrived in Manaus, Brazil where where they will play Japan at 2am(Nigerian time). #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/m4yGPeI9Og
— Bolarinwa Olajide (@iambolar) August 4, 2016
The team planned to fly to Brazil on Tuesday, but the charter airline refused to make the journey because they hadn't received payment. After a rescheduled flight for Wednesday was cancelled because the aircraft was too small, the team finally left Atlanta around 8:00 a.m. ET Thursday morning before landing in Manaus at 2:07 p.m. ET.
Kickoff for the team's opening game against Japan is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET, so it will be a quick turnaround to the get the players ready for their first test.