Several businesses have suffered losses through Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria locked horns with the Black Stars of Ghana in the final round of the African qualifiers for the mundial.
Unfortunately, for Nigeria, the national team suffered a defeat to Ghana on aggregates and missed out on booking a place in the tournament.
With the mundial starting on Sunday, November 20, it has come to light that the Nigeria FA has missed out financially and is feeling disappointed for not making it to the tournament.
In addition, several businesses have been hard hit after losing a lot of money.
A businessman living in Qatar, Ekene Romeo has disclosed that he pre-ordered 20,000 Nigeria jerseys hoping to cash in when Nigeria beats Ghana to qualify for the World Cup.
With the Super Eagles failing the Black Stars test, he has not lost massively with the jerseys not being sold at the rate he anticipated.
“I had placed an order for 20,000 Nigerian national team jerseys, which I knew would be in high demand. I was also making plans to host the first ever Nigerian entertainment and fashion week here in Qatar during the World Cup,” Romeo told Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, Bukola Aliu who is the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) Lagos zone has admitted that the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the World Cup has adversely affected business.
“Many people expressed interest in touring Qatar as well. The demand has reduced because most people are no longer interested,” he told Aljazeera when contacted in Nigeria.