The hope of over 600 Nigerians to watch the World Cup clash between the Super Eagles and Argentina was dashed on Wednesday, when wakanow.com, official travel partners to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) failed to transport them to Porto Alegre, venue of the match.
Wakanow had promised to move the fans from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre on Wednesday morning, in time for the kick-off, but the promise was not met.
“Most of us left Nigeria believing that we were going to Porto Alegre. We were surprised to be brought to Sao Paulo. Many are alleging that this has all the tell-tale signs of a scam,” said a bitterly disappointed fan.
The disappointment was heightened by a lack of information from Wakanow which, only at the last minute, got tickets for about 50 people to go to Porto Alegre, leaving others stranded.
Major companies like MTN, Naija Bet, DStv, 360 Bet, Clean soap and Tecno, which sponsored promo winners and customers to watch the World Cup, were left bemoaning their fate.
The fans who are scattered around San Paulo spent a sleepless night waiting for a flight that never materialised.
“First they told us 2pm, then later we were told 4pm, then 5pm. They kept shifting the time until they told us they couldn’t take us there anymore,” another frustrated fan said.
