The Club on its website said it took the decision as a result of complexities linked to the planned game against Nigeria on Saturday, August 5 in Abuja.
Arsenal marketing director Angus Kinnear said: “Bringing a top-level club to an international market is always complicated and logistically challenging. With the proposed match in Nigeria planned for early August, we could not get comfortable on everything needed to satisfy our requirements, so we have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone the team’s visit.”
Kinnear continued: “We have a huge and loyal following in Africa, and we are sorry that the team will not be visiting this summer. However, we have a long-term commitment to Nigeria and we are already making plans for a visit next summer.
“In addition, we also have some exciting forthcoming activities planned with our commercial partners in Nigeria – Emirates, Airtel and Malta Guinness, which will kick off in the next few weeks.”
The divisional senior vice-president, corporate communications of Emirates said: “Emirates shares Arsenal’s disappointment that the team’s visit to Nigeria has been postponed. We look forward to working with Arsenal to bring the Club closer to its loyal Nigerian fans through new initiatives over the coming months.”
A UK Football promoter, David Omigie of DanJan Sports had last month announced that English Premier League side Arsenal will on August 5 play the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a pre-season match in Abuja.
The London club traditionally hosts an annual pre-season tournament at the Emirates Stadium, but they opted to postpone the event for a year because of the 2012 London Olympics.
The visit to Nigeria would have concluded Arsenal’s pre-season after tours to both China and Malaysia in July.
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