Five Of Eight Super Eagles Players “Stuck” In Lagos, Abuja Now In Uyo

Five of the eight Super Eagles players stuck in Lagos and Abuja during the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) nationwide strike have united with the national team in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital city.

Since Sunday, June 2, the Super Eagles of Nigeria have been training in Uyo ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa on June 7 and Benin Republic on June 10.

They commenced training for the must-win World Cup qualification games with just 15 players out of the 23 football stars invited for the matches.

The remaining eight players – Semi Ajayi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Calvin Bassey, midfielder Frank Onyeka, forward Paul Onuachu, Maduka Okoye, Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman – were supposed to join the team in Uyo from Abuja and Lagos on Monday, June 3.

Unfortunately, the NLC nationwide strike broke out grounding domestic flights across the country. Hence, they had to remain in their respective locations until Tuesday when the strike was suspended as the labour union and the federal government of Nigeria continued with their negotiations.

On the same day, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) arranged a jet that flew five of the eight stranded players to Uyo. The five players who have now joined the training camp are Bassey, Ajayi, Osayi-Samuel, Onyeka and Onuachu.

The last three players who are expected to be in the Super Eagles camp before the end of today are Lookman, Iwobi and Okoye.

Note that the Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup qualifiers match against South Africa will kick off at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Following that, the Super Eagles will fly to Abidjan to take on Benin Republic in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on matchday 4 on June 10.