Nigeria’s soccer team stuck in Atlanta due to unpaid flight bill

The Nigerian Olympic soccer team is currently stuck in Atlanta due to an unpaid bill to its chartered airline.

The Nigerian Olympic soccer team is currently stuck in Atlanta as a result of an unpaid bill to its chartered airline, according to the BBC.

Nigeria opens up play against Japan on Friday, and is now not expected to land in Rio less than 36 hours before the team takes the field.

The issue occurred because of a logistical mix-up with the flight payments, which are handled by the Nigerian sports ministry.

“The money paid by the [sports] ministry for the charter flight did not hit airline’s account on Tuesday so they refused to fly the team to Brazil,” a BBC source said.

According to a member of the team, it is still unclear when the team will make the final leg of the trip to Brazil.

“We’ve been told to get ready to fly out in few hours but that's been the story since last week,” the player said.

Nigeria has a history of success in the Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1996. The squad is in Group B with Sweden, Colombia and Japan.