THE DAY NIGERIAN FOOTBALL BECAME COMEDY OF ERRORS


*How Nigeria's Super Eagles Played in Cut Tracksuits and Still Thrashed Burkina Faso 7-1 in Lagos*

_By Pocket News | Throwback Special_

It is a story many modern football fans have never heard — a story so bizarre that it sounds like fiction, but it happened live at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, on July 27, 1991.

On that day, Nigeria's Super Eagles were almost walked over in a 1992 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Burkina Faso's Stallions, not by the opponents on the pitch, but by an unbelievable administrative blunder off it.

*Shorts Forgotten at Ota*

According to team accounts from that era, the Super Eagles had been camped at Obasanjo Farms, Ota, in Ogun State under Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof. On matchday, the team departed for Lagos — but the kit bag containing the entire set of playing shorts was left behind in Ota.

It was not discovered until minutes to kickoff at the National Stadium, which was already packed to capacity. The guest of honour was Nigeria's then military Vice-President, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu.

With players already in their jerseys but with no shorts to wear, panic erupted in the dressing room. The Guinean referee, Karim Camara, was reportedly threatening to award a walkover to Burkina Faso if Nigeria failed to appear properly kitted within five minutes.

*Scissors to the Rescue*

What happened next became folklore.

With no time to send a vehicle back to Ota, members of the backroom staff brought out scissors and began to cut the team's green tracksuits from the bottom, turning them into makeshift, knee-length shorts.

Witnesses described the scene as both hilarious and embarrassing. The players looked ridiculous as they filed out — some in unevenly cut shorts, with frayed edges and loose threads.

Admiral Aikhomu, in full naval regalia in the VIP box, was said to have been taken aback, along with thousands of fans who could not understand the strange outfit of their national team.

*From Farce to Fireworks*

But what could have been Nigeria's biggest football embarrassment turned into one of its most memorable demolitions.

Clemens Westerhof's men, angry and perhaps fired up by the humiliation, took their fury out on Burkina Faso.

The attack led by the late Rashidi Yekini was unplayable. Yekini reportedly bagged four goals on that afternoon, with Friday Elahor, Samson Siasia, and Daniel Amokachi adding one each.

By the time the referee blew the final whistle, it was Nigeria 7, Burkina Faso 1.

The makeshift shorts had not stopped the Eagles from flying.

*The Aftermath*

The incident made national headlines the next day. Newspapers called it a "Comedy of Errors" — a phrase that stuck and is still used to describe Nigeria's organizational lapses in sports to this day.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) was said to have warned the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) over the kit violation, but the result stood.

That victory was crucial. It kept Nigeria's qualification hopes alive for Senegal '92, a tournament where the Super Eagles would eventually win bronze and lay the foundation for the golden generation that won AFCON in 1994 and qualified for Nigeria's first-ever World Cup.

Today, that July afternoon in 1991 is remembered not just for the goals, but for the grit. It proved that even when the system failed, the talent on the pitch was so overwhelming that not even cut tracksuits could stop it.

As one veteran journalist who witnessed the match reportedly said: "Staff improvised. Players adapted. Nigeria won."

*Match Fact Box:*

- *Match:* Nigeria vs Burkina Faso
- *Competition:* 1992 AFCON Qualifier
- *Date:* July 27, 1991
- *Venue:* National Stadium, Lagos
- *Score:* Nigeria 7-1 Burkina Faso
- *Coach:* Clemens Westerhof
- *Referee:* Karim Camara (Guinea)
- *Special Guest:* Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, Vice-President of Nigeria

---

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