The recently replaced national anthem was played for the Super Eagles during their 2026 World Cup qualification game against the Benin Republic.
The Eagles are playing the Squirrels of Benin in their
fourth qualifier game on Monday at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan,
Cote d’Ivoire.
During the ceremonial rendition of the competing countries’
national anthem at the beginning of the game, the match organisers opted for
Nigeria’s replaced anthem.
The players, however, were seen gleefully reciting the
anthem’s tune.
On May 29, President Bola Tinubu signed a bill reintroducing
the old national anthem.
The reintroduced national anthem, initially adopted from
1960 to 1988, used the theme ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee,’ while the version used
from 1978 to early 2024 was titled ‘Arise, O Compatriots.’
The reintroduction of the anthem has been met with mixed
reactions, particularly on social media.
On June 7, the reintroduced anthem was played when Nigeria
hosted South Africa for matchday three of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The match ended 1-1 at the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo,
Akwa Ibom. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s second-half strike rescued a point for Nigeria
after Bafana Bafana had taken the lead through Thambo Zwane.
The Eagles are fifth in Group C behind Benin, Lesotho, South
Africa and Rwanda.
Watch the video of the players reciting the old national
anthem here:
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayBefore the Nigeria match started, FIFA decided to play the previous National Anthem. Is FIFA not aware of the recent changes of our national anthem? pic.twitter.com/Hg874KYjvg
— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) June 10, 2024
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Very useless country. I don't blame the players.
ReplyDelete