Super Eagles victory over the Wayas Antelope of Ethiopia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier, has been dedicated to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by the Nigeria Football Federation President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari.

The NFF President insisted that the kind of support which the team received from President Jonathan played a big role in boosting the morale of the players.

“We really have to give honour to whom it is due. Our President has been a wonderful man even from the days he was Vice President. He has always shown tremendous love for this team and indeed other National Teams, and this affection has played a critical role in the way our teams approach in international games.

“President Jonathan’s appearance at the Super Eagles’ training session in Addis Ababa was a big boost. The boys knew at that moment that they had no choice but to win,” Maigari said.

President Jonathan, who was at the African Union Summit in Ethiopia, paid a surprise visit to the team at the training ground on his way to the airport while returning to Abuja.

At the training ground, President Jonathan charged the players to give their best as they have always done, saying Nigerians at home and in the diaspora have confidence that the team would qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil.

Present during the training session were NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, Chairman of Technical Committee, Barrister Chris Green, NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu, Director of Technical, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, Director of Marketing, Mr. Adama Idris, Assistant Director (Media), Mr. Ademola Olajire, Head of International, Mr. Bola Oyeyode, all 23 players, coaches and backroom staff.

Maigari also showered encomium on the President for aiding the presence of large contingent of Nigerian supporters as the match in far away Addis Ababa.

“You could see the impact that our supporters were able to make because of the large number. Their ceaseless dancing, singing and drumming matched the din of the Ethiopian fans, who probably had never seen other foreign team’s support counter their own performance so effectively.”

The entire delegation also travelled in comfort, flying from Abuja to Addis Ababa in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and returning in a Boeing 777-200, with the players quite relaxed in their business class compartments.