Nigeria to spend nine million dollars for World Cup (23.02.2002)
LAGOS
Nigeria`s 2002 World Cup adventure will cost around nine million dollars, Sports Minister Ishaya Mark Aku announced Wednesday.
The amount will cover a two-week training camp in Fuji-Yoshida, Japan, where the team will be based ahead of the World Cup.
Nigeria are drawn in the so-called Group of Death along with Argentina, England and Sweden in the first round of the finals.
Nigeria spent less than one million dollars for the recently ended African Nations Cup in Mali, where the team placed a disappointing third.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Nigeria Football
Association (NFA), Dominic Oneya, said Nigeria will play a warm-up match versus Scotland as part of the country`s build-up for the World Cup.
Oneya said the match has been fixed for April 16 in Scotland.
Other matches that have so far been arranged for the `Super Eagles` include one against a Spanish select side on March 27 as well as a May 17 game against fellow World Cup finalists Republic of Ireland.
Another friendly on May 13 against the Netherlands has also been lined up should a four-nation invitational tournament fail to take place in the southeastern city of Port Harcourt.
