SUPER EAGLES STRANDED! Ademola Lookman, Iwobi, Okoye & 4 others trapped in Lagos as NLC shutdown bites

Maduka Okoye and Ademola Lookman amongst others are yet to hit Uyo camp to join the Super Eagles.

FOOTBALL SUPER EAGLES STRANDED! Ademola Lookman, Iwobi, Okoye & 4 others trapped in Lagos as NLC shutdown bites

SUPER EAGLES STRANDED! Ademola Lookman, Iwobi, Okoye & 4 others trapped in Lagos as NLC shutdown bites

Izuchukwu Akawor • Izuchukwu Akawor • 20:24 - 03.06.2024

No fewer than eight Super Eagles stars led by Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and Maduka Okoye are yet to arrive Uyo after NLC grounded flights with strike.

The Super Eagles' preparations for their crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers have been thrown into chaos after a nationwide strike grounded all domestic flights across the country leaving Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and others trapped.

A host of Super Eagles stars including Maduka Okoye, Semi Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, and Paul Onuachu have been stranded at airports, unable to connect to their base in Uyo before the upcoming matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic on June 7th and 10th.

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NLC shutdown traps Super Eagles stars

As reported by Pulse Sports Nigeria, the industrial action was orchestrated by major aviation unions in response to a directive from the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike.

With all domestic flights halted from the early hours of Monday morning, the Super Eagles' travel plans have been left in disarray, severely hampering their preparations for the crucial World Cup qualifying double-header per a post by PoojaMedia.

Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman played his last game of the season for Atalanta on Sunday. (Imago/LaPresse) Ademola Lookman became the fourth Atalanta player to hit double figures in Serie A this term (Imago/LaPresse)

This is a massive blow for the team and new Nigeria coach Finidi George. These players must be together, training and gelling as a unit, ahead of such important matches. But now their journeys have been completely disrupted by this nationwide shutdown.

The international travel chaos is set to continue, with all domestic and international flights expected to be grounded from Tuesday onward as the strike action escalates.

Maduka Okoye returns for Super Eagles but yet to hit Uyo || Imago

With time running out before the crunch World Cup qualifiers, the Super Eagles' backroom staff will work overtime to find alternative solutions to get their squad together as soon as possible.

But the nationwide aviation shutdown has undoubtedly thrown a major spanner in the works for Nigeria's World Cup qualification hopes.

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Finidi's side is now facing a race against time to be ready for the high-stakes matches against South Africa and Benin.

As reported also by Pulse Sports, only 13 players led by Victor Boniface, Stanley Nwabali and Samuel Chukwueze were in attendance as Finidi and his backroom held their first-ever session.

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