BY Victor Akhidenor
Organisers of the Brazil 2014 World Cup opening ceremony displayed the wrong flag while announcing Nigeria on Thursday. Instead of Nigeria’s flag, an image of Niger’s flag was projected to the globe at the middle of the pitch during the ceremony.
Twitter user, Cameron Laws, pointed out the blunder when he announced:
#OpeningCeremony The awkward moment when they use the Niger flag instead of Nigeria #NGA Cameron Laws @lawseyitfc
Nigeria’s flag features three vertical stripes, with a white stripe sandwiched between two green stripes, while Niger’s flag features three horizontal stripes. The top stripe is orange, sitting above a white stripe and a green stripe. There is an orange circle in the middle of the white stripe.
The neighbouring African nations share a 450-mile border and maintain friendly relations. Nigeria is currently ranked No. 44 in FIFA rankings. Niger is ranked No. 112 and did not qualify for the World Cup.
This is not the first time the wrong flag has been displayed during a major sporting event. During the 2012 London Olympics, a women’s soccer match between North Korea and Colombia was delayed because the organisers showed the South Korean flag while introducing the North Korean team, and the players refused to take the field.
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