Brazilian football giant, Santos F.C, will, for the second time, visit Nigeria, to play after they made their first visit to Nigeria at the instance of the former Military governor of the old Bendel State, Samuel Ogbemudia, 53 years ago.
Santos F.C’s visit to Nigeria in 1969 saw them come with football legend, King Pele of Brazil, but this will not be so when they come this time, as the legendary footballer has now clocked 82 and may not be able to play like he did during his heydays.
The visit of the Brazilian giant was disclosed to newsmen by the National Chairman of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) Rev. Samuel Ikpea during a press conference which took place at the Secretariat of the club in Surulere, Lagos.
According to Rev. Samuel Ikpea, he stated that NFSC are responsible for facilitating Santos’ F.C visit to Nigeria, and he further confirmed to our correspondent that Santos will arrive in Nigeria sometime in November.
He further stated that the Santos FC delegation will be hosted by Aare Onakakanfo Gani Adams on the day of arrival to Nigeria before they pay a courtesy visit to one of Nigeria’s Monarchs in the South-West, His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi.
Subsequently, they will also visit the Brazil Consulate in Lagos, the National Secretariat of Nigeria Football Supporters Club in Surulere before heading to Benin to visit yet another Monarch in Nigeria. But this time, it is going to be the Oba of Benin and Edo State Governor before they play a ‘Ceasefire’, friendly football match, before returning to Lagos.
During the press conference, Nigerian Journalists who were on ground had the opportunity to hear from Max Pedro, one of the officials of Santos F.C who spoke via a video call from Brazil and confirmed their readiness to visit Nigeria.
The last time Santos F.C visited Nigeria, was during the 30-month civil war, which took place between 1967 to 1970 and their presence brought calmness for a period of 48 hours , confirming that football has become a veritable tool for brokering peace. – Simag.
