Coach Sampson Siasia, who guided Nigeria’s Dream Team VI to a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, has quit because of “a disrespectful system”. He said he was quitting after “a turbulent and incredible campaign in Brazil.”
Siasia, the most decorated African football coach at the Olympics having also won a silver medal in Beijing in 2008, revealed that he is unpaid for five months by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“I have reached that point where I have to say I have had enough,” Siasia told BBC Sport.
“I’ve gone several months without getting paid, years of being derided and disrespected by the sports authorities in Nigeria but I am done already.
“It’s sad that after all we went through to get to Brazil and end up winning a bronze medal, the players, coaching and backroom staff never received a ‘thank you’ in appreciation despite a turbulent time at the Olympics” he added.
Before arriving in Rio, Nigeria’s ‘Dream Team VI’ were held up in Atlanta, USA due to non-payment for their flight by the sports authorities. They only landed in Brazil less than six hours before their opening game against Japan.
There was also a troubled build-up to their quarter-final against Denmark after the players boycotted a training session in protest over wages.
Despite all the problems, the team clinched the country’s only medal at the Rio games.
“First we had the minister deride us for camping in Atlanta and even denied our existence as a group before the flight problems,” Siasia remembered.
“Players had to embark on a strike to be heard, then the boys kept a good spirit to win an incredible medal, only to be publicly criticised for speaking to the Japanese surgeon who supported and rewarded the team for their brave spirit.”
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