From our Sports desk, Benin
The Nigeria male senior football team, the Super Eagles have arrived Uyo; for the must win game against the Cheetahs of the Republic of Benin holding on Tuesday, 14 October, 2025.
This is after the reported flight scare and consequent emergency landing in Luanda, Uganda on Saturday.
The Nigeria team arrived safely in Uyo on Sunday morning, after a replacement aircraft was deployed by ValueJet Airlines to bring the team home, reports said.
The media officer of the Super Eagles, Promise Efoghe said, the ValueJet chartered aircraft conveying the team after their 2-1 defeat of Lesotho in a world cup qualifying game, briefly stopped to refuel in Luanda.
But the plane suddenly had a cracked windshield shortly after take off from Luanda.
Consequently, the pilot decided to make a U-turn to Luanda for an emergency landing; avoiding what could have been a disaster.
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In a statement, the NFF said: “The cracked windscreen of the chartered ValueJet Airline aircraft conveying the Super Eagles’ delegation from Polokwane in South Africa to Uyo has delayed the arrival of the players and officials in the Akwa Ibom State capital.”
The Federation added that ValueJet worked closely with the Federal Ministry of Aviation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President to secure the necessary flight and landing permits for the replacement aircraft to convey the team back to Nigeria.
All team members are safe and fine, Efoghe assured; “We are all fine and all is well with the team,” he said on Saturday night.
Reports reaching us confirmed that the team touched down at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, at 8:10am on Sunday to resume preparations for the must win clash in the 10th and last 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles talisman, Victor Osihmen have been quoted to have said ahead of the crucial match: “On Tuesday, we will face Benin as underdogs, with Benin being the favored team to win due to our recent subpar performance.
“Our team has been struggling to meet our own standards, and things just aren’t coming together as they should.
“Unfortunately, we cannot make any promises to our fans, but we will certainly give it our all. This team continues to persevere, and we hope that Tuesday will be our turn to come out on top, provided we fulfill our roles as players. I’d rather not dwell on other matters, but I am disappointed in how we’ve been representing our country.”
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