Liberia’ s President George Weah on Monday urged Nigeria to get their preparation right for the World Cup and avoid wranglings over cash that have plagued previous appearances.
The former Monaco , Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan forward took office in January on a promise to turn around the impoverished West African nation.
On an official visit to meet his Nigerian counterpart , Muhammadu Buhari , he praised the Super Eagles for getting to Russia , calling them “a model” for African teams to follow.
“I have played with great Nigerian players , I played against them. Now you have a new generation , the fact that they qualified is a good thing for Nigeria, ” he said.
“But I hope they’ ll prepare very early because they ’ re going to represent Africa and we’ ll be there to watch them , for them to bring the trophy for the first time if it ’ s possible."
Weah, a global sporting superstar in the 1990s who remains Africa ’ s only Ballon d’ Or winner , said recurring stories of unpaid fees and bonuses disrupted players.
It also gave them an excuse when they under- performed . “So , let the players not have an excuse, support them and bring back the cup , ” he added.
Weah’ s comments echo those of Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr , who has said he wants “stable preparations and credible participations… without any distractions”.
The Nigeria Football Federation said last November it would pay players and officials a total of $ 2 . 4 million as a bonus for securing qualification.
Players deliberately missed a training session in Brazil in 2014 as a protest when the qualification bonus was not paid.
The tournament in Russia will be Nigeria ’ s sixth appearance at the global finals and they have reached the knockout rounds three times , in 1994 , 1998 and 2014.
