President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has said that there is 'nothing strained' in the relationship between him and CAF President, Issa Hayatou.
There are insinuations in some quarters that the relationship between Pinnick and Hayatou has been sour since July, when FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Fatma Samba Samoura visited Nigeria.
According to www.sportscourtnigeria.blogspot.com, the CAF boss is angry with Pinnick for leaving him out of the elaborate visit of Infantino and Samoura to Nigeria. The report further stated that following the strained relationship between the duo, Nigeria could lose the hosting right of the Africa Beach Soccer Nations Cup, which is scheduled to hold in Lagos in December.
However, Pinnick told The Guardian yesterday in a telephone chat that his relationship with Hayatou remained cordial, adding that the NFF actually dispatched a letter to CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt inviting Hayatou and his executives for the visit of Infantino and Samoura to Nigeria.
"Anybody suggesting that the Flying Eagles and Golden Eaglets got knocked out of the qualifiers to the 2017 African U-20 and U-17 championships because of a strained relationship between me and Hayatou is not saying the truth. Everybody saw what happened at the Teslim Balogun Stadium during the game between the Flying Eagles and their counterparts from Sudan. Our boys had several scoring opportunities but failed to make good use of it. Was it Hayatou that is supposed to convert those chances for our boys?