Ahmed Musa, the captain of the Super Eagles, emphasized that some Nigerian supporters are more interested in betting than genuinely supporting the team.
Musa, speaking in Lagos during the unveiling of the team’s ‘Let’s Do It Again’ mantra, noted that many fans don’t support the Super Eagles out of genuine passion but rather as bettors.
He highlighted the pressure players face, especially those with families in Nigeria, and acknowledged the financial challenges players encounter after failing to qualify for major tournaments like the World Cup.
Musa expressed his understanding of the fans’ frustration, attributing a shift in support to the influence of betting on football.
“I love this country and I know whenever we lose, I have a family back home, I know the pressure they face when we lose. When we are on the pitch, they say ‘na him mother be this, go insult me (this is his mother, insult her). So, I know I must put in everything I have so that people don’t insult my family,” Musa said.
“Nowadays, with the players we have in the team, none of them stay in Nigeria. They don’t know the anger that most of us, who have families in Nigeria, face when the team loses.
“He [Amaju Pinnick] did his best so that we qualified for the World Cup. We lost a lot of money and that is why most of our players right now are facing challenges because we failed to qualify for the [2022] World Cup. So, we as players lost so much money.”
The 31-year-old added, “No matter where you are playing you always go down into your corner to think when you lose money. Nowadays I understand what football is and the anger of the fans. Most of us don’t support Super Eagles because we like them, they will say, ‘hey dem don cut my ticket, give me my money’ (hey they’ve spoiled my ticket, refund my money). You will see on most of our DMs ‘you cut my ticket, you no sabi play’ (you spoiled my ticket, you don’t know how to play), its because they are bettors. Before, you will see the love and passion for the team but nowadays, betting has spoiled everything.”
