Adekunle Salami
The Chief Executive Office of Brila Media, Dr. Larry Izamoje, has said that it was important to have the 12th man behind the Super Eagles in the crucial Nigeria/Ghana Qatar 2022 Playoff scheduled to take place at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium on Tuesday.
In football, the 12th man are the fans cheering every move of the home team and motivating them to get goals during a match.
The Black Stars and Super Eagles ended the first leg of the fixture goalless on Friday at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi in an encounter Izamoje reckoned that it was the 12th man, the fans at the stadium, that brought out the best in the home team.
In the decisive encounter taking place tomorrow in Abuja, Izamoje said it was important for the football authorities and the ministry of sports to mobilise fans to cheer Eagles to victory.
“The match in Kumasi was very tough because the fans were making so much noise to propel the Black Stars to victory. We must salute the resilience of the Eagles and the tactical discipline of Coach Austin Eguavoen and his crew. “
There must be deliberate effort to get the fans to the National Stadium in Abuja because the match is going to be as explosive as the first leg. For now, it is advantage Nigeria but we cannot relax because the role of the fans is huge on match day. All those entering the stadium should have the national flag with them and they should wear the traditional green top of the Super Eagles.
“Ghana put off a great fight to avoid being disgraced and we have a chance to finish off the work in style on Tuesday. Every Nigerian must support this team to clinch the ticket because many love football and it will be a major disaster to miss out of Qatar 2022.”
The Eagles must record a clear win in the second leg of the playoff against Ghana in Abuja as a score draw with give the visitors an edge via away goal rule.
