Osaze Odemwingie Narrates How Dream Team Wore Female Kits During Beijing Olympics, Video
- Osaze Odemwingie shared how the Nigerian federation mismanaged the Dream Team's kit situation at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
- The silver medal-winning squad was left scrambling after officials sent their kits back home, assuming the team would not progress past the group stage
- Odemwingie said some players had to buy plain white shirts out of their own pockets to avoid looking completely dishevelled during travel
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Former Super Eagles forward Osaze Odemwingie has revealed that the Nigerian federation's poor planning left the Dream Team VI in a chaotic kit situation during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, forcing players to borrow from the Super Falcons and spend their own money on shirts.
Odemwingie shared the story in an appearance on the Rash4Christ Podcast with Rasheedat Ajibade, recalling how officials had shipped the team's kits back to Nigeria after assuming the squad would be eliminated in the group stage.
Source: Getty Images
"We fight for kit like they send our kit away; we had that in China, the drama we had. We have to wear the girls' kit for the second round and the rest of it in Beijing because apparently they thought we're not going to get far," he said.
Super Falcons’ failure to the rescue
When Nigeria unexpectedly advanced from the group stage, the players found themselves without enough clothing to last the tournament. The Super Falcons, who had exited the competition, left their Adidas kits behind, and the federation passed them on to the male squad.
"The Falcons I think they didn't make it through the next stage. They now left their kits, you know, back then and they passed on," Odemwingie explained.
Even with the women's kits as backup, the squad still lacked enough items to rotate properly between matches and travel days. Some players resorted to buying plain white shirts from shops to avoid looking completely mismatched.
"Some of us went and bought just a plain white t-shirt so we don't look completely different," Odemwingie said, adding that the situation caused tension in the camp with then-coach Samson Siasia.
American teams at the tournament reportedly noticed that the Nigerian players were wearing the same clothing repeatedly.
"They're laughing at us," Odemwingie recalled.
Despite the off-pitch disorder, the Dream Team VI went on to reach the final, where they lost to Argentina. Angel Di Maria's 57th-minute strike gave La Albiceleste the gold medal, as Nigeria finished with silver.
As noted by ESPN, the result gave Argentina revenge for their 1996 Olympics final defeat to Nigeria.
Eric Chelle given Olympic team role
Legit.ng previously reported that Eric Chelle will coach the U23 team as part of his newly improved contract as Super Eagles head coach.
The Franco-Malian was given the added responsibility as the Dream Team aim to qualify for Los Angeles 2028 games for her first time since Rio 2016.
Source: Legit.ng
