Ex-Nigerian striker Obasi accused of World Cup bribe in 2014

Former striker Chinedu Obasi, 33, is allegedly being accused of paying a bribe to participate in the 2014 World cup. On Sunday of May 10^th he said he was asked to pay a bribe to feature in the 2014 world cup but he ended up missing on the selection. The ex striker has been a free agent since leaving the Swedish team AIK in January, making his last Super Eagles appearance in 2011 and had cub spells in Germany and Hoffenheim and Schalke.

“I was supposed to be at the World Cup in 2014, I was playing with Schalke in the Champions League everything was going fine. At the end of the season, I was given an invitation for the World Cup preparations for friendlies in South Africa,” Obasi said on social media. “So, two days before the list came out, I was asked to pay some money if I wanted to be in the team,” he added.

Obasi has a good number of accolades under his belt; wining a silver silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, playing at the 2010 World Cup, but he said a move away from the Bundesliga fell through after missing the tournament four years later. He felt like he has paid his dues for the country and if he was a new player he would understand the situation but for him it became a bit personal and heart-breaking because he got injured and he was supposed to move from Hoffenheim to England.

The striker said that it takes a lot of dedication, money and investment in himself and is body and he even went through surgery to be able to qualify. However, one of Nigeria’s assistant coaches at the World Cup six years ago, Valere Houdonou, maintained Obasi was not good enough to make the final squad facing competition from the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Ahmed Musa. Houdonou said that he was battling the decision as to who Obasi could replace among the strikers then.

“He was invited like every other potential player that could make the World Cup then because the coaching crew wanted to take the best to Brazil,’’ said Houdonou, “He failed to make the list because he could not displace anyone in the team,” he added. Another assistant coach at the World Cup in Brazil, Daniel Amokachi, too exception to Obasi’s allegations after Stephen Keshi, the head coach, passed insisting the players are also guilty.