29/09/2026
The American team laughed at us — Osaze
Former Super Eagles forward Osaze Odemwingie recalled that the American team laughed at them after they were forced to wear the Super Falcons’ kits during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
According to a report by The Punch, Odemwingie explained that officials had sent the team’s kits back to Nigeria after believing the Dream Team would not progress beyond the group stage.
However, Nigeria advanced to the knockout phase, leaving the players without enough kits for the remainder of the tournament.
According to Odemwingie, the team had to rely on kits left behind by the Super Falcons, who had been eliminated from the competition.
He said the situation became noticeable to other teams, with the Americans making fun of the Nigerian players for repeatedly wearing the same clothes.
“The American team were laughing at us, saying, ‘You guys wear the same clothes all the time,’” Odemwingie recalled.
The former West Bromwich Albion forward also disclosed that the players had to find other ways to deal with the shortage, with some buying plain white T-shirts so they would not appear entirely different from their teammates.
Despite the off-field difficulties, Nigeria enjoyed an impressive campaign in Beijing.
The team went through the group stage unbeaten before progressing to the final, where they faced Argentina.
Nigeria eventually settled for the silver medal after losing 1-0 to Argentina in the final, with Ángel Di María scoring the only goal of the match.