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Pinnick refuses to panic

Cape Town - Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigeria Football Federation, is confident about the national team’s prospects of qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Pinnick is also adamant that this team has the capacity to defend the title it won during the 2013 tournament in South Africa, even though that might seem rather unlikely at this juncture.

"We want you all to continue to be heroes. Not from heroes to zero. We can do it, we have done it before," Pinnick told the Nigerian squad in Abuja this week.

The football administrator said that while it would appear that the public has lost faith in the national team, it was certainly not the case with the Nigeria Football Federation.

"Whatever is happening right now is just a phase, we see you guys play and know you are capable. If we win this match on Wednesday, I have the strong feeling that we will qualify and get to the finals and win the Nations Cup again," added Pinnick, suggesting that the administrative troubles which were recently experienced by the team are now a thing of the past.
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