The match is the final hurdle the Super Eagles must scale to land in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup finals holding from November 21 to December 18. Thirty-two teams will participate in the spectacular global football fiesta.
Announcing the free tickets in Abuja on Monday, Otunba Runsewe said all Nigerians must take ownership of the Super Eagles campaign to fly Nigeria’s Green-White-Green flag in Qatar.
He urged residents of Abuja to storm the stadium to cheer the Super Eagles to victory.
The Otunba Runsewe largess was revealed in a press statement signed by NCAC’s media officer,Mr. Joe Bassey.
Otunba Runsewe however added a caveat to the offer of ree tickets: to qualify for a free ticket, the potential beneficiary must wear the national colours of green-white-green and be physically present at the Old Parade Ground, Garki, by 12:00 noon prompt, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
Speaking later with journalists in his office, the NCAC boss underscored the significance of sports as a unifying factor in the country, adding that sports and culture were veritable ingredients for the development of any nation.
Otunba Runsewe, who doubles as the President of the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), said that apart from mobilizing a three-million online culture-friendly fan base to support the Super Eagles at the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018, the NCAC also engendered the mobilization of 10 million virtual supporters for the Eagles during the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon.
He urged Nigerians to put the early exit of the Super Eagles from the AFCON 2021 behind them and back the squad to qualify for the World Cup.
“It is time we put the early exit of the Super Eagles from the AFCON behind us and stay focused on Nigeria qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,” he encouraged.
““We cannot continue to talk about the Super Eagles not going far in the (AFCON) tournament after showing so much promise at the group stage,” he emphasized.
The NCAC boss said there was the need for Nigerians to give maximum support to national football team so that they could qualify for the Qatar World Cup which will serve as a good platform to once again market Nigeria’s rich and diverse culture, arts and crafts , to attract global patronage.
This, according to Runsewe, will translate to massive Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the country even long after the fiesta.