By Victor Kanayo
A highly anticipated international friendly match between Argentina and Nigeria slated for the United States on March 26, 2024 has been put off.
This is the second time the test game has been moved, the first being the one earlier scheduled to be staged in China.
Heritage Times HT reports that the news of the final cancellation though not official yet, was disclosed by a top official (names withheld) of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Tuesday.
Reason For Botched Game
The NFF Chief said cancellation was triggered after the Nigerian delegation failed to secure visas for all the players and officials meant to travel for the game.
According to him, “The NFF has just been been informed that the friendly match between Nigeria and Argentina scheduled for the United States of America has been called off because the organiser couldn’t get visas for us.
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“The US are strict on issuance of the visas, the organiser told us. So, we can’t get visas therefore the friendly match is no longer going to hold.
“Once the date is FIFA window for international games, we are looking forward to having another country to replace the World champions to play friendly match with Super Eagles.”
Shopping For New Opponent
The cancellation meant that Nigeria will shop for a new opponent for the FIFA window ahead of 2026 World Cup qualifier against South Africa and Benin Republic later this year.
Already, Argentina have secured a fresh friendly match date with Costa Rica.