Abuja — FIFA Vice President Jack Warner yesterday revealed that the football ruling body is not happy with the poor attendance of the local fans at the FIFA U-17 World Cup venues, as well as the attitude of Nigerian fans during Nigeria's first match against Germany.
According to statistics released by FIFA, only 471,934 watched the first 72 games in the first round, representing an average of 13,109 per match.
Warner, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, told reporters at a media briefing in Abuja that it was a shame to see Nigerian fans booing their national team after it was trailing the Europeans by 3-0.
He stated that the most annoying thing was to see the soccer fans leave the match venue after Germany's second and third goals were scored, stressing that whatever happened the home fans would have stayed behind to cheer their team to recover from the setback.
"It was a shame that Nigerian fans were booing their team, and some even walked out of the venue when the match was still on. Whatever was the scores, they would have stayed to give them support, and it is satisfying the boys played their game and ended it 3-3", Warner said.
He recalled that the spectators booed the team and left the stadium in annoyance.
He condemned the attitude, saying that it did not show patriotism.
"It is unpardonable that when the Golden Eaglets needed support most was when the spectators booed them and eventually left the stadium.
"A team needs support most when it is down, but unfortunately the Abuja case was different.
"I am not impressed with the spectators, especially those who booed and walked away when the team was down and needed them most.
"You can imagine the spectators booing the boys who are 17 years old.
"If I were a young Nigerian footballer, I would have cried to see what the adults did, because that was not the best way to behave.
"You do not need friends when you are coping up; you need friends when you are down, but when the team was down to Germany, the spectators walked out on them and booed them.
"To me that was unpardonable," he insisted.
He said that FIFA would, however, not like to dwell on the past and urged spectators to make amends and show the world that Nigeria was a football country by filling the Abuja National Stadium to its brim on Thursday when the Golden Eaglets would tackle New Zealand in the knockout stage of the championship.
"We expect the stadium packed to its 60,000 capacity in the coming matches," he said.
On the other hand, Warner commended the level of security provided by the country at hotels and match venues, saying the standard was impressive.
"I am over-satisfied with the security situation at the stadia and other venues", he added.
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This guy doesn`t understand. When your heart has been broken many times over, it is hard to stay unconditionally supportive. Jack Warner does not understand that Nigerians don`t mind too much if a national team is defeated in a game. We do however rate the quality of play. If a team plays very well and loses,we will support it, confident that it is capable of winning future games. However, playing badly, and conceding needlessly, in front of adoring fans, abomination!! The Super Eagles, Flying Eagles, now this? What did you expect? Kudos! to the team however, for showing that Nigerian "Never say die", resilient spirit, in its draw with Germany. I hope they draw inspiration from their counterparts, from teams past. This is what the Nigerian fan is used to. Goodluck in your quest to retain the cup.