Mikel, who was the team's captain and one of the three overage players, recalled the frustrating experience at the airport, where the team waited from morning till night for a flight that never came.
Former Nigerian football star John Mikel Obi has revealed that he single-handedly funded the U-23 Eagles team's flight to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
During his podcast, The Obi One Podcast, posted on YouTube on Thursday, Mikel exposed the corruption within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), stating that he had to personally cover the team's travel expenses to ensure their participation in the tournament.
Mikel, who was the team's captain and one of the three overage players, recalled the frustrating experience at the airport, where the team waited from morning till night for a flight that never came.
According to Mikel, the NFF leadership failed to disburse the government-funded allocation for the team's flight to the tournament, despite the time-sensitive nature of the situation.
With the deadline looming, Mikel took initiative and personally covered the flight expenses, thereby securing the team's participation in the tournament, a decision made nearly eight years ago.
He said, “When I represented my country at the Olympics in Brazil, we had to fly there, and we waited from morning till night, waiting for a plane to take us to Brazil.
“There was no plane to take us to Brazil because there was in-fighting behind the scene of who was going to pick up the tab.
“The FA didn’t want to pick up the tab, the government, I think, released the money, but the FA or whoever the money got into his hands refused to release the money.
“So we waited at the airport from morning till night but there was no flight. I had to pay for that flight to take us to Brazil. And these are little things.”
The U-23 Eagles' subsequent bronze medal win in the men's football event at the 2016 Olympics was a testament to the team's resilience.
However, Mikel's revelation shed light on the systemic challenges Nigerian athletes face when representing the country internationally.
This issue was further highlighted by the failure of the Nigerian team to the Olympic Games in Paris, France, to win any medal at the event.
This disappointing performance despite a spending of over N8 billion sparked widespread outrage among Nigerians, who criticised the authorities for their incompetence.
This has led to calls for the resignation of Senator John Enoh, the Minister of Sports Development.