Following the promise of allocating houses to the triumphant 1994 Super Eagles squad, the Federal Government of Nigeria presented a three-bedroom flat each to former Super Eagles stars Ike Shorunmu, Mutiu Adepoju, and Finidi George, as well as former team Doctor Akin Amao, in Oyo state.
However, reports affirmed that the keys to the apartments along the Ibadan-Oyo Road were later retrieved from the former internationals by representatives of the government.
They claimed that the Certificates of Occupancy are yet to be issued and promised to return the keys and relevant documents to the former players once all necessary procedures are completed.
In a brief presentation on Tuesday, officials of the federal government fulfilled their pledge as a follow-up to the initial allocations given to some players earlier this year in April.
The presentation was made in fulfilment of the government’s promise to reward the Super Eagles who flew the country’s flag high at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA.
The group won the Africa Cup of Nations and guaranteed Nigeria’s first-ever place at the FIFA World Cup.
At the 1994 World Cup Clemens Westerhof’s men became the first African team to lead a World Cup group —a feat recently equalled by the Atlas Lions of Morocco at the just-concluded FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
They topped the group with six points, boasting of two wins and a loss. They defeated Bulgaria and Greece but lost to Argentina, scoring six goals and conceding two in their first-ever group stage appearance at the tournament.
Nigeria were eliminated in the second round by eventual finalists Italy.
They lost the match 2-1 after taking the lead through Emmanuel Amunike, but a late goal from Roberto Baggio forced the tie into extra time, and Baggio added another with a penalty to seal the tie for the Azzurri.
