Chapter 870: Faith
***6th January 2022***
In a conference hall that had been arranged into a venue for a press conference, a lot of reporters sat in chairs waiting for the Super Eagles manager and captain to arrive.
With the AFCON tournament drawing nearer day by day and the team scheduled to travel to Cameroon, the hosting country, they had scheduled a press conference to speak to the press.
The press would get to ask the manager about the team’s aspirations and other things like how the preparation for the competition was going.
Of course, it wasn’t only the manager who was expected at the press conference.
The national team captain was expected to make an appearance and he might not be the only player to make an appearance.
A sudden shift in atmosphere at the entrance caused a stir among the reporters and cameras turned to face the doors immediately.
A second later, people started walking through the entrance and walking up to the chairs in front of the crowd.
Augustine Eguavoen was the first one to appear through the doors and following closely behind him was William Troost-Ekong, the current Super Eagles captain.
Ahmed Musa, the team’s previous captain had finally retired from football and the band was handed over to William.
Coming behind the captain were three other players. Iwobi, Iheanacho and Jason.
Each one of them took a seat at the long table backed by a board filled with sponsor logos and the press conference began.
The first set of questions were directed to then new manager... well, interim manager.
Questions regarding the team’s preparations, their aspirations in the tournament and how it felt to be the interim manager for the national team were directed to Augustine.
Some reporters didn’t hesitate to ask questions about whether he had his eyes on a more permanent stay with the national team, but Augustine skillfully deflected the question as while he did have designs on the national team manager position, it was too early for him to make his ambitions known.
All he said was that after the tournament, they’d see.
After answering a few more questions to the manager, the reporters turned to the players.
Starting with the captain, they asked William what it meant to lead the Nigerian national team into a prestigious tournament like the AFCON.
With a calm but excited undertone, William smoothly replied to the questions, stating that it was an honor to have been trusted with the armband for his country for the foreseeable future and that he hoped to be able to prove that he was worthy of his teammates and the fans trust.
Starting with the upcoming AFCON tournament of course.
Other questions flew at the Super Eagles Captain and at the other players and finally, it was Jason’s turn.
"You missed the first and second round so of the FIFA world cup qualification matches last year due to injury. How does it feel to get called up for the national team again?" The first question came Jason’s way.
"Uh, I was disappointed to have missed the games, but with these guys holding the fort there wasn’t much to worry about. Now I’m ready and I’m glad the manager called on me," Jason replied, rubbing his neck.
"This will be your first international tournament with the Super Eagles. What do you feel about been called up to such a big stage and what are your expectations for the tournament?"
"... The AFCON is a very prestigious tournament and I am very excited to be a part of the- uh, to take part in. I think it will be quite the experience," Jason replied softly into the mic.
"The super eagles has always been a strong contender for the previous AFCON tournaments so how far do you think the team can go in the competition this time?"
Jason first glanced at his other teammates and at the manager before turning back to the reporter.
"Like you said, we are strong contenders and we have a team as good as any other so uh, I believe we can go all the way. The AFCON trophy is coming home," Jason said and instantly all the reporters in the room felt their blood pressure rise. Things were getting interesting
"Not just a strong performance but winning the trophy? Don’t you believe it is a little early to make such a claim? Especially since you haven’t had experience in the tournament before?" The reporter shot back.
Thinking logically this was the right bout of questioning. After all, despite being strong contenders the national team had been a bit shaky in recent years, especially in international tournaments.
Jason however didn’t feel pleasant that his answer was being questioned. Why would you ask him for his opinion and then question his opinion.
Sure this was a press conference, but surely you had better things to do.
He was thinking to either ignore the question or snap back when he saw a necklace of a cross hanging from the reporter’s neck.
"Are you a Christian?" Jason asked with an eye raised.
"Yes. I love and serve God," the reporter was a bit surprised at the question but answering with pride all the same.
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. That’s Hebrews 11:1,"
"I have faith, do you?" Jason shot back and the reporter opened his mouth to counter but had no reply.
"Practice what you preach, the world has enough fakes. Next question," Jason said and turned to the next reporter.
The room was silent for a second before the next reporter asked Jason a question, but all the other reporters were lost in thought.
When did this turn into a religious debate?
Also, did this guy just out talk a media reporter, especially one that was known for having one of the biggest mouths.
The reporter in question was also stunned.
Enlightened by Jason’s words, but stunned at how he had been shut down.
In the end he could only laugh to himself, now looking forward to the tournament even more and making a commitment to be more "Christlike" in his doings.
Saying one thing and practicing another did indeed make him look a bit of a fool and he couldn’t have that continue.