Rivers United gained a major boost on Tuesday in their effort to perform well in Benghazi and guarantee their entry into the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederations Cup.

Footballrover understands that the Nigerian ambassador to Libya, Kabiru Musa, visited the Port Harcourt outfit during their training session at the Benina stadium in Benghazi.

The Pride of Rivers arrived in Benghazi on Monday and were thrilled to see the ambassador, who was present for the entire hour-long training session.

The General Manager of Rivers United Chief Dr. Okey Kpalukwu JP, the team’s secretary Ahmed Abdulrahman, and Technical Manager Stanley Eguma welcomed Ambassador Kabiru Musa, who was accompanied by some consular staff from the Nigerian embassy and members of the Nigerian community in Tripoli and Benghazi.

The Ambassador urged Rivers United to give it their all and make Nigeria proud, not caring about the tricks played by their rival and emphasizing that he and the Nigerian community in Libya are supporting the squad wholeheartedly.

“Let me congratulate you for the victory you had in Nigeria and then just give you words of encouragement. That’s why i am here to give you maximum support and to mobilize the Nigerian community. I will be here with you and as well to cheer you up.” – he said.

The Nigerian ambassador to Libya added;

“I was told of the incident that happened yesterday, so what I will tell you is what your coach has been telling you about mind games. It doesn’t happen only in the pitch. Mind games can be played so that you loose your focus but I know with the resilience we have, you are not going to allow it to weigh you down. You should not be discouraged, you should just remain focused and make sure the performance you did in Nigeria, you do it better here.”

The ambassador stressed that;

“Since the tournament began, there is no Nigerian team that has won. It’s only Dolphins that became runner up in 2005, so please we want you to progress, we want you to lift the trophy. You in your own right are also diplomats because there is what is called sports diplomacy and football is beyond what you think. It is a tool for friendship, a tool for integrating societies, a tool that we use to make peace so we are here to make friendship, we here to promote our country, we are here to protect the interest of our country. So please remain focused and play to win“

In his welcome remarks, General Manager Dr. Okey Kpalukwu JP appreciated the Ambassador for taking the time to attend in person to express support and assured him of success notwithstanding the team’s hostile treatment since their arrival in Libya.

Rivers United’s captain – Festus Austin, spoke on behalf of the players and expressed his gratitude to the ambassador, saying that their visit will inspire the team to win.

“I just want to thank you on behalf of the team. We are very happy to have you here. Seeing you have boosted our moral because we have seen our brothers. Yesterday (Monday) when we came and we saw some fans that attacked us, but today we have seen the faces that have given us strength. I want to assure you that we are going to make you proud and our number one supporter in Nigeria, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Governor Nyesom Wike who have been doing so well for us, we will not disappoint him and the entire Nigeria.” – Festus said.

Kickoff for the second leg of the CAF Confederation’s Cup additional playoff round match between Rivers United and El Nasr Benghazi is set for 8 p.m. (Nigerian time), and 9 p.m. (Libyan time) on Wednesday. Rivers United enters the match with a 5-0 lead.

𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕? 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒙!.