Former Nigeria U 23 coach, Samson Siasia has strongly denied recent claims by Mikel Obi, who alleged that he personally paid for the team’s flight to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In a sharp rebuttal, Siasia dismissed the statement as inaccurate and challenged Mikel to provide evidence of any such payment.
Mikel, in a recent interview on “That Peter Crouch Podcast,” alleged that he financed a chartered flight for the Nigerian team after they were left stranded due to financial difficulties within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“There was no money to pay for a flight, the players were worried… I spoke to the coach, we looked for a plane and I had to pay for it,” Mikel said, adding that he has yet to be reimbursed.
Reacting to the comments, Siasia categorically denied the account, stating that the team’s flight to Brazil was arranged and sponsored by Delta Air Lines.
“Mikel Obi did not pay any flight money… Nothing like that happened,”
Siasia said. “Delta Airline flew us to Brazil for free. If Mikel has a receipt to that effect, let him show Nigerians that he was the one who paid.”
Siasia acknowledged that Mikel played a supportive role during the tournament by covering some hotel expenses, but stressed that he was not involved in securing the team’s air transport.
He further clarified that an initial arrangement involving a private jet provided by businessman Yemi Idowu was abandoned after the aircraft proved too small to accommodate the squad.
The issue was eventually resolved when Delta Air Lines stepped in and offered a larger aircraft at no cost to the team.
Neither Mikel Obi nor the NFF has issued a follow up statement in response to Siasia’s rebuttal yet.
