Nigeria’s Falconets were headed home Wednesday afternoon after being stranded for 24 hours at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey.
They left Costa Rica on Monday after Netherland knocked them out with a 2-0 win at the on-going FIFA Women U20 World Cup. But on arrival in Turkey, the team according to the Nigerian Football Federation missed their connecting flight to Abuja. Photos of the team sleeping on the bare floor at their transit airport had caught the attention of the media, but the Nigeria Football Federation officials absolved themselves of any blame.
“It is unfortunate that the ladies had to miss their connecting flights which as a matter of fact could happen to any traveller, “ a member of NFF posted on his twitter handle.
“Flight tickets are always booked by FIFA Travels and as such FIFA is responsible to transport all teams safely through and fro.”
However, the NFF could have also acted quickly to put the girls in an airport hotels for the night.